The following “Chew This!” column originally appeared in “The Courier-Times” and / or “The Shelbyville News”. Check their websites for further information and dates.

Hawaiian Cheese and Roast Beef Sliders

Blaise Doubman

I remember someone in my family making a version of these many years ago and I never really could figure out the recipe, or what to call it when searching, so I experimented on and off for years before finally just calling it quits and putting it on the backburner. Skip ahead a few years later, when I was testing and developing recipes for my cookbooks, and still, I could not really figure out anything about these. Looking back, I think I was just making it too complicated. There was just something about them that was so simply delicious and yet so complex, I just could not figure out the flavor profiles. Then, I found an old cookbook that came from a Church down south, that had a recipe for ham and cheese surprises they were called. It sounded like the layers and possible flavors of the recipe I was looking for, so I tried it and the final flavor profiles were pretty close to what I had been looking for all those years ago.

I decided to take that base recipe and start from scratch. The original recipe I remembered from all those years ago, was made with ham but I decided to use roast beef instead. The cheese, I knew from memory, was a Swiss cheese, so I kept that the same. The secret, I found out through a lot of trail and error, was the mayonnaise, the onion powder and the Worcestershire sauce! Also letting the sandwiches sit for a little bit before baking turned out to be a wonderful flavor profile enhancer. These are delicious super-hot right from the oven; however, they are also delicious at room temperature. Not everyone loves turkey or ham for the Holidays, so why not make something like this? I remember my Grandma Barbra always serving roast beef and my Grandma Deloris always serving ham. You could even make this sandwich “club style” with different layers of your favorite lunch meats!

Hawaiian Cheese and Roast Beef Sliders

You can use your favorite lunch meat and your favorite cheese for this recipe.

24 slices of sliced roast beef
6 slices of Swiss cheese, cut into fourths
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 stick butter, melted
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
24 Hawaiian sweet dinner rolls, cut in half across the tops

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush one side of the sliced rolls with mayonnaise.

Fold up and layer on the lunch meat and cheese, evenly, across the rolls.

Put the sliced bread together and slightly push down.

Place into a greased 9×13-inch baking pan, making sure the rolls are pressed together well.

In a medium sized bowl combine the poppy seeds, Dijon mustard, melted butter, onion powder and Worcestershire sauce. Brush this mixture evenly all over the tops of the rolls.

Cover with aluminum foil and allow to sit for 15 minutes.

Place in preheated oven and bake for 12 minutes.

Remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Remove and serve hot.

Ask and Answer: Many of you have written in and wondered about quick and easy Holiday side dishes. I have hundreds of them on my website! Just visit my website and browse or search for some of your favorite holiday side dishes by finding the heading column or search engine box.