Grilled ham and cheese

I love making roast ham. It is one of my favorite comfort foods. The other day I made a big roast ham and had that with some cheesy risotto and buttered carrots. One of my favorite things about roasting a ham is all the things that can be made out of the leftovers. Ham and eggs are the first to come to mind. Other dishes include jambalaya, creamy ham pasta and even ham étouffée as possibilities.

What could be better than a simple ham and cheese sandwich? How about a grilled ham and cheese? You can’t go wrong with that. The following directions are for each sandwich, but I hardly think one sandwich is sufficient. I’d recommend at least two per sitting. That’s not a lot, is it? With hot cheesy ham sandwiches, you can’t stop at just one.

2 slices of hearty rye bread

Butter at room temperature

4 slices of swiss (or cheddar if you prefer)

Ham sliced off the leftover roast

Dijon mustard

Fresh ground white pepper

Tabasco

Preparation

Heat a cast iron pan. Place two slices of cheese on one slice of the rye bread. Pile on lots of thinly sliced ham carved off the bone. More than that! Go ahead, a little more. Spread a little dijon mustard on the ham and grind on some white pepper. Add a couple of drops of Tabasco and then place the last two slices of cheese on the ham. Top with the remaining slice of bread.

Butter the outside of the top slice of bread. Place the sandwich, butter side down, on the hot cast iron pan. While that is cooking, butter the outside of the other side of the sandwich which is now on the top. Cover with a lid from a large pot and let that cook for a few minutes. Carefully turn the sandwich over. The side that was down probably isn’t toasted all the way yet.

Cover again and let the other side cook for a few minutes. Check to see that it isn’t burning. Turn over again and cook until both sides are nicely browned and the cheese is melted.

Note, if you are like me, your sandwich might be so thick that the ham doesn’t get hot enough by the time the bread is toasted. If you make your sandwiches extra thick, quickly sear the ham slices in olive oil in a skillet before assembling the sandwiches. I like my sandwiches to test how wide I can open my jaw.

Serving

I like to have a big pickle with my ham sandwiches along with some good kettle style chips. I then wash all that down with a pint or two of Guinness.