Wednesday, February 23, 2011

My Girlfriend's Awesome Ham and Cheese Slyders

I readily admit that I am by no means a good home cook.  Although I have gotten better in recent years I still have trouble making anything beyond that which is very easily prepared.  Luckily I have a wonderful girlfriend, Megan, who is a certified chef and frequently prepares a variety of tasty items for us to enjoy at dinner time.  One of my favorite specialties of hers is her delicious hot ham and cheese slyders.  They have all of my favorite trappings when it comes to food:  easy to make, meaty and cheesy, hot, portable and enjoyable any time of the day.  I apologize for not having any pictures, but I thought I'd do you one better and explain how to make them yourself.

Ingredients and equipment:
1 large skillet, non-stick
1lb or more shaved deli ham
1 bottle of your preferred variety of mustard (I like honey mustard.)
1 bottle Worcestershire sauce
1 dz soft rolls (I prefer Aunt Millie's white, but any non "brown 'n serve" variety will do)
1 package poppy seeds
Swiss cheese, 1 slice for each sandwich
Aluminum foil roughly cut into 6"x6" squares

Put the skillet on medium low heat and add in the deli ham and Worcestershire to taste.  Move the mixture around to ensure even heating of the meat without it getting too crispy.  Next, add the mustard.  You can add the mustard to taste as well, but in my opinion its the most important aspect to the flavor of the sandwiches so be generous.  As you continue mixing sprinkle in some of the poppy seeds.  Once the mixture is heated, split each roll and put the ham right out of the pan and on to the roll.  Put a slice of Swiss on and immediately wrap up in aluminum foil.  The foil retains the heat in the sandwich which helps melt the cheese and also allows the juices to soak into the roll.  Now that the sandwiches are wrapped up you can take them to work for lunch, you could make a lot to take to a party, eat them right now or put them in the fridge for a midnight snack. 

Once you make some of these and have a bite you're going to be hooked.  Even if we make a dozen or more they are never around our house for very long.  With Spring hopefully on its way soon these would make great picnic or potluck food.  Forget that boring casserole and bring everyone a little bit of awesomeness...and beer...always bring beer.

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