Have you ever had an old friend that was as nice as they could be, very dependable, honest as the day is long, but so boring that after a few minutes with them you wanted to get up and run around the room screaming at the top of your lungs just to liven things up? I feel that way about the ham sandwich. Maybe it’s all those years of being handed a sack lunch that contained a bag of chips, a couple of cookies, and a sandwich constructed from a few thin pieces of ham, a slice of American cheese with a dab of mustard.
It’s time for ham to get sassy!
If you’re going to construct a great sandwich, you better start with some great bread. I perused the deli section at our Ferguson Shop ‘n Save and finally settled on the King’s Hawaiian hamburger buns. From past experience I knew that the King’s Hawaiian rolls would provide the sweetness I was after. The dinner rolls were too small, the sandwich buns too large, but the hamburger buns were just right! (with apologies to Goldilocks)
Next on the shopping list was a pound of honey-cured ham, small jar of mayo, swiss cheese and a medium-sized sweet onion. The Worcestershire sauce and spicy brown mustard were waiting for me at home.
Let the sandwich making begin!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Dice the onion and start sauteing on low heat in 2-3 tablespoons of butter.
Cover a baking sheet with foil because this can get a little messy.
Spread a generous coat of mayo on the bottom bun and start stacking the ham.
Next up is the swiss cheese. Because I’m just a little bit anal, I trim the cheese slices on 2 sides so the resulting square slice perfectly fits the buns (yeah, just a little bit). This gives me 12 long thin slices of cheese in addition to to the 6 square slices that now fit perfectly on the 6 buns. Each sandwich now gets 1 square slice and 2 thin slices of cheese.
Yikes, feel free to add the cheese any darn way you want too.
Now comes the fun part. If you thought the sauteing onions were making your kitchen smell heavenly, you are about to kick it into olfactory overdrive! Add 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce ( or a soy-based steak sauce) and 2 generous tablespoons of spicy brown mustard. Mix together with the onions and let simmer for a minute. At this point you may want to make sure your doors are locked … the ensuing aromas have been known to attract hungry neighbors and passing motorists.
Place the bottom buns that are supporting the ham and cheese on the lined baking sheet, then spoon the onion-sauce mix on top of the cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted, add the top buns for a minute until warm then serve to everyone lined up in your kitchen.
Poppy’s Sassy Ham Sandwiches
Difficulty: If Poppy can do it, anyone can!
Ingredients:
- 1 pound honey-cured ham
- 6 King’s Hawaiian hamburger buns
- 1 medium sweet onion
- 6 slices swiss cheese
- 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- Mayonnaise
( Soy sauce or a soy based steak sauce can be used in place of the Worcestershire sauce )
… I can’t believe I spent that much energy telling you how to put the cheese on top of the ham!
Goldilocks illustration by Leonard Leslie Brooke 1923
Poppy Walks the Dog ... 