Mini Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
These mini ham and cheese sandwiches don’t appear to be all that interesting, but believe me, don’t let the photos fool you. This isn’t just ham and cheese thrown between halves of a roll. The sauce that these sandwiches is marinated in takes them over the top. The first time I had them was at a party at my Dad’s house. Obviously, we wanted the recipe immediately. These would be amazing to serve at a New Years Eve gathering.
The recipe is from my step-mom’s sister, K. She explained that the key to these little guys is the overnight marinating. This allows all the flavors of the marinade to soak into the bread and surprisingly doesn’t leave the rolls soggy at all. My sister has made these and didn’t have time for an overnight marinade, and they just weren’t the same, so don’t skip that step!
Hubby has made these two years in a row for our friend’s holiday potluck. They’re always a huge success. They’re great for potlucks because you can do all the work the night before and then just pop them in the oven when you get to the potluck location and 10 minutes later people will be asking you for the recipe. (Note: The pictures are takedn with rolls that are bigger than the ones the recipe calls for. We couldn’t find the mini-Hawaiian rolls at our store, so we used potato rolls. They tasted delicious, but weren’t as cute and small as the first time we made them)
Mini Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
These ham and cheese sliders always disappear first at a party
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 Tbsp grated dried onions
1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp honey mustard
2 (12 ounce) packages Hawaiian rolls - If you can't find these, we've used potato rolls as well
1 pound cooked ham slices
12 ounces sliced swiss cheese
Directions:
In saucepan, mix butter, poppy seeds, onion, Worcestershire sauce & mustard, stir until blended and melted. Pour 1/2 of mixture into bottom of baking dish.
Assemble sandwiches with ham and cheese slices. Arrange rolls in single layer in baking dish, spreading them around to soak up sauce in pan. Pour rest of sauce over tops of sandwiches, cover dish and refrigerate up to 24 hours for sauce to soak in.
Preheat oven in 350 degrees, bake rolls for 10-12 minutes until rolls are lightly browned and cheese is melted.
Recipe from my step-mom's sister
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I love this!
http://www.simplysweeter.blogspot.com
Fantastic idea, I will have to give this a go x
What a great idea! Now I just have to think of what to pair this with to give as gifts.
Hi Jen,
Great minds think alike!! I have been brewing vanilla extract for months for Christmas gifts.
I thought I’d answer your question here. I love your idea for frosting. It would be heavenly!
Laura
What? You can just add more vodka to your supply? I had no idea! I just used the last of my homemade vanilla, and it was soooo deliciously dark 🙂 Now that I know that, I’ll have to remember when I make my next batch! Do you have a favourite type of bean? I used Tahitian the last time, and it didn’t have that “normal” vanilla scent to it… I’ll have to find which beans give that traditional scent (though, really… any vanilla works for me!)
This is definitely on my gift giving list.
I received homemade vanilla once and it is still one of my favorite gifts.
I have always wanted to try this!! My brother did it once but that was before I was into cooking and I totally didn’t appreciate it. I would now! Thanks!
I think it’s the perfect idea for a gift and never even thought of making it myself. Of course, if I do end up making it, I’ll probably just end up using it all before I give it away! 🙂
how many beans did you put in the vodka bottles to start?.. love the idea.. Thanks
jmanley – I put 24 beans in each bottle of vodka. They were the big bottles of vodka. As you can see in the pictures, I used skyy, which is great, but I couldn’t watch the color of my vanilla change! Definitely try to get clear bottles or pour the vodka into a clear jar so you can tell when it’s ready.
thanks for the quick response.
Love your website:)
what type of vanilla bean did you use – does it matter?
KV – The type of bean you use will have an impact on the flavor. I used Bourbon-Madagascar beans for my vanilla.