Dressed up Ham and Cheese Sliders- a 50 Cent Sandwich that tastes like a Million - 52 Catering Recipes and Church PotLuck Ideas

This is a mind of a small batch caterer post...

Here's another one of my Million Dollar ideas... Well a few thousand anyway.

I do a lot of catering lunches.  The type of lunches where even when it's time to eat, it's also time to mingle.  SO, finger food, grab and walk sandwiches are very popular.  Slider size, a couple of bites and back to work (only to return in a few minutes for a second Sammy).

Ham and cheese fits the bill perfectly, but you do need to dress it up a bit.  After all, if you are going to charge money, you need to make them something memorable.

The easy to spot dressing is the apple slices.  Naturally sweet, and adds a crunch to the bite.  It's my "In your face" memorable Secret Ingredient.

Shhh, don't tell but I use whatever lunch meat is on sale.  In this case, Black Forrest Ham.  25 slices about a pound and a half , $3.99 a pound

But I also add my secret sauce (the cheese).  Not so secret, Cream Cheese, Ranch Dressing and herbs.

For the all important bread... Just a bit exotic, those super soft slightly coconutty, Hawaiian Rolls.

Add a pickle and a funky toothpick and this cost effective batch of sliders run me about $10 cost, about fifty cents each, sell for $1.50 each... What a country!

I get an order for these about once a week.  Not a million dollar idea but I sell plenty and they are very popular... So, here's my several hundred dollar idea...

Works great at any buffet or for a simple grab and keep working lunch.

OK... Here's what I did...

Dressed up Sliders

Ingredients

• 24 Hawaiian Rolls
• 24 Slices of Lunch meat (Buy what's on sale, but look for Black Forrest Ham)
• 48 Apple Slices
• 2 Bricks Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/4 Cup Ranch Dressing
• 2 heaping TBS Spice Mix (I like a Cajun Mix)
• 24 Pickle Slices
• 24 Pretty Toothpicks

Cooking Directions

1. Slice each of the rolls in hal
2. Mix the softened cream cheese with the ranch dressing and spices.
3. A Smear of the Cream Cheese mix on each half of a roll, a couple slices of apple, a folded piece of lunch meat.
4. Top with a pickled speared by the dressed up toothpick.
5. Serve chilled and ENJOY!

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This recipe has been added to my growing list of "52 Church PotLuck Dishes"!

A list of something NEW worthy of being shown off at a neighborhood BYODish (Bring Your Own Dish) Party, a Family special occasion dinner, Any Big Holiday Gathering or of course that glorious day when you bring a dish to share with your Church family...

Ages ago, literally almost a half century ago I was listening to our pastor talking about a PotLuck Dinner. It happened to be scheduled around a church work day when we were expected to weed, polish and do general cleaning and maintenance around the church (you know, back in the day when there were no no-wax floors and church pews smelled of Old English furniture polish). I am of course paraphrasing, but as I recall the pastor said,

"A potluck, like a church requires work. At a potluck everyone is expected to contribute.. At a church no one should come empty handed and no one should leave unfed".

I will confess that in my youth I brought more store bought plastic spoons and forks than I ever brought covered dishes and crock pots of fresh made love and caring delights. But now that I have become a hobbyist cook, I occasionally am reminded of those days and people from my youth. I reminded and I do wish that I could drop a dish of some new creation on those old tables at my fondly remembered Liberty Baptist Church.  Tables covered with newspapers and loaded with God's bounty prepared with love and caring... Enjoy

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