Ham & Cheese

A big winter storm is coming and I’m wanting something hearty that tastes good hot or cold. My fancy version of a Ham & Cheese Sandwich is what makes the top of my list. It’s sinfully easy to make, especially if you buy prepared puff pastry from the grocery store.

Ingredients and Instructions

2 sheets of puff pastry rolled out to 10x13, chill this in your refrigerator (cover with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out).

Thinly sliced Ham. I used black forest ham and about 6 ounces of it will be fine.

I made a creamy cheese sauce using;

I Tb butter (unsalted)

1Tb flour

1 cup whole milk

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1/4 tsp of salt, pepper and nutmeg

Melt butter in a 2 quart pan, add in flour stir it with a whisk and cook for about 1-2 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk. Stir stir stir until it thickens then add in cheese and spices omit the salt if you used salted butter. Let cool to room temperature before pouring over the ham.

Keeping a border of roughly 1/2 to 3/4 inch all the way around your pastry, spears out your ham slices, pour cheese sauce on top. Brush edges with a beaten egg, pinch edges together, also brush the top to make it turn a beautiful golden brown. Cut some vents in your pastry and bake at 400° for 30 minutes.

Making something yummy for lunch doesn’t need to be super complicated, it just needs to start with good ingredients. Puff pastry makes a simple ham and cheese a bit fancy.