Ham and Swiss, and Onion Sliders

There’s no short supply of birthday parties around here this time of the year, and like most gatherings food is a requirement.  

When my family gets together there is always food involved. Birthday parties are no exception. The only difference would be we serve more snack like foods than meal like. I don’t know how many of you have ever hosted a birthday with 15+ people, not including any friends that get invited, but for us it’s normal. It’s also very hard to stretch a fruit or veggie tray that much. So, my sister and I started making mini sandwiches for every party roughly 12 years ago.  We were cool way before Pinterest was cool. Plus, when you have a sandwich to go with the fruit and veggie tray everything goes a LOT further.

We’ve made multiple types of mini sandwiches; regular bread sandwiches sliced into 4 triangles, hotdog bun hoagies, potato rolls filled with different meats and cheese, and now we’ve come to the sliders. Not just any regular slider though, sliders made with those super delicious King’s Hawaiian Sweet Rolls. I’m sure you know what rolls I’m talking about. The ones that make you want to find a reason to use them 365 days a year. Yes, they’re that good. Well, here is one more way to use them

You’re going to need

1 Small Skillet
1 13X9 Baking Dish
A Stove
An Oven Heated to 350 Degrees
A Couple Butter Knifes
1 Spoon
A Small Amount of Foil

AND

1 Package of 12 Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

1 Onion, minced or grated
1 Stick of butter
3 Tablespoons of Dijon Mustard
2 Teaspoons of Worcestershire Sauce
3 Teaspoons of Poppy Seeds
½ Pound of Shaved Ham
8 Slices of Swiss Cheese

Start by mincing or grating your onion and set that aside.

Now, get the small skillet I mentioned earlier, and over low heat melt the stick of butter.

Once melted you want to add in the onions.

To that, add in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and poppy seeds.

Let that all simmer together for several minutes.

While that’s simmering, get one of your knifes out and slice the rolls lengthwise as a group; removing the top halves.

Place the bottom portion of the rolls in the 13X9 baking dish.

Now comes the fun part, making layers.

Remove the onion mixture from the heat and spread ¾ of it on to the rolls in the baking dish.

Layer that with the ham, then the Swiss cheese, and then put the top half of the rolls back where they belong.  

If you noticed, there is still ¼ of the onion mixture left. Go ahead and spread that on top of the rolls.

Cover the yummy goodness with foil and bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

If you’re like me and like to make things a little ahead of time, that’s fine; just cover the sandwiches with foil and refrigerate till you are ready to bake.

Once they’re done slice the sandwiches along the defined lines, serve on your nearest platter (or regular dinner plate like me) and sit back, relax, and enjoy the party.

Like the hokey pokey says, “That’s what it’s all about,” anyways.

(This story and recipe was written for my column "Madison County Cooking" published by The Madison County Record, April 2012)