Recipe Background
These easy ham and cheese sliders are perfect for road-trip nostalgia and quick assembly.
When I graduated college, my best friend and I decided to take a cross-country road trip before diving into the world of nine-to-five. As two recent grads on a budget, we lived off simple ingredients that could be made quickly in motel kitchenettes. One evening in Ohio, armed with only a pack of Hawaiian sweet rolls and some deli ham, the creation of these sliders was born. The secret weapon was a jar of whole-grain mustard we picked up at a local farmer's market, paired with a small container of honey. We found that mixing them together created a tangy-sweet sauce that elevated our humble meal.
Every time I whip up these ham and cheese sliders, I'm taken back to that cramped kitchenette. The nutty aroma of Gruyère melting into the rich milk sauce felt like a culinary hug. As my friend whisked the sauce on a small electric stove, I learned an early rule of savory cooking—don't rush the thickening process. A few minutes extra made all the difference in consistency, a lesson stamped into my culinary memory. We wrapped up the dish with melted butter and fresh parsley from a tiny grocer as an unexpected garnish.
Baking these sliders feels like a nostalgic road trip wrapped in golden rolls. Remember to let them rest for a couple of minutes after baking before serving. It really helps everything set, keeping your version as tidy as ours was messy, standing in a motel room with laughter in every bite.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 12 Hawaiian sweet rolls split
- 1 pound deli ham thinly sliced
- 8 ounces Gruyère cheese shredded
- 1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Grease a 7x11-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until the raw flour smell disappears, about 1 minute.
- Slowly whisk in the milk.
- Bring the milk mixture to a boil while whisking constantly.
- Reduce the heat to medium and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 4-5 minutes.
- Transfer the sauce mixture from the heat.
- Stir the salt and the nutmeg into the sauce.
- Stir the mustard and the honey together in a separate small bowl.
- In a small, microwavable bowl, melt the remaining butter on high heat until melted, about 20 seconds.
- Arrange the bottom halves of the Hawaiian rolls in the prepared baking dish.
- Spread the bottom halves of the rolls evenly with the honey mustard.
- Add the ham, the milk sauce, and the cheese to the baking dish, evenly placing them atop the honey mustard layer.
- Replace the tops of the rolls.
- Brush the tops evenly with the remaining melted butter.
- Sprinkle with the parsley.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 8 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake until the cheese is melted and the rolls are golden, about 5 minutes.
- Serve.
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