Ham & Swiss Party Sandwiches

Hold on to your hats, ladies, because these sandwiches are SO good.  My sister-in-law first introduced me to these wonderfully, rich, decadent sandwiches when we were on a girls' trip to FL this past summer.  We whipped them up for brunch one morning, and they were so good!  Now, I served these at her bridal shower, but you could easily makes these sandwiches for dinner one night, for brunch, or even lunch!  They are so yummy, really easy, and very versatile.  DELISH!

Ham & Swiss Party Sandwiches

Ingredients:
1 pan of Sister Schubert yeast rolls, defrosted and cut across lengthwise
1/2-1 lb. of thinly sliced ham
8 oz. swiss cheese

Ingredients for Spread:
3/4 stick softened butter
1/4-1/2 small onion, minced
1 teaspoon of poppyseeds
1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
1 Tablespoon worcestershire sauce


Directions:

In a small bowl, combine ingredients for spread:  butter, onion, poppyseeds, mustards, and worcestershire sauce.  Spread mixture on both sides of the Sister Schubert rolls.  Cover bottom half of rolls with the thinly sliced ham & cheese.  Cover with other half of rolls.  Put the entire thing back into the aluminum pan.  With a sharp knife, slice rolls apart, making sure to cut through the layers of ham and cheese.  Cover with foil and bake at 300 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Remove pan from oven, let cool for about 5 minutes, then take a sharp knife and re-cut sandwiches apart to serve.

Tri-Colored Pasta Salad with Cheese

This recipe is what I used for my sister-in-law's bridal shower a few weeks ago.  I recently posted an entire menu of what was served, so feel free to visit back for more bridal shower food ideas.  When looking for a recipe for pasta salad, I wanted to go more traditional.  This one had a great list of ingredients and was just what I wanted: light, crisp, and not overly-dressed.


Tri-Colored Pasta Salad with Cheese

Ingredients:

32 oz., dry tri-colored spiral pasta
16 oz. grape tomatoes, whole/halved/quartered (your preference)
1 can black olives, sliced
1/2 jar green olives, sliced
1 cucumber, chopped and seeds removed
1 whole sweet bell pepper (any color), chopped
3 whole celery stalks, chopped
3 whole green onions, finely chopped OR 1/4 of a yellow onion, finely chopped
8 oz. fluid Italian or Greek or Caesar Dressing (I used Zesty Italian by Newman's)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon dill weed
1 teaspoon black pepper
Optional: 16 oz. fresh Mozzarella Cheese, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Directions:

Cook pasta according to box directions, making sure to salt your water and not to overcook your pasta.  You want a nice bite to it!  Rinse with cool water and set aside.

Drain olives, then place them in salad bowl.  Add grape tomatoes, chopped cucumber, sweet peppers, celery, and mozzarella cheese (if using).  Add chopped onion.  Add cooled pasta into salad bowl, and pour the salad dressing on top along with dill weed and pepper.  Fold together until dressing is distributed.  It is best to make this the day before and let all of the flavors meld and the dressing to marinate the pasta and vegetables.  Stir in Parmesan cheese prior to serving.  Serve cold.

Bridal Shower Food Ideas

So, my sweet sister-in-law is getting married in April, and I am the (very pregnant) maid of honor!  A few weeks ago, we hosted a bridal shower in her honor and had some amazing and delicious food.  I was thinking I would post the whole menu that we had in case anyone was looking for some inspiration for any upcoming showers that you may be hosting or assisting with.


Here is our menu:

Chicken Salad Sandwiches on mini croissants
Ham & Swiss Party Sandwiches (recipe to follow)
Tri-Colored Pasta Salad with Cheese (recipe to follow)
Vegetable assortment with dip
Fresh Fruit assortment with dip
Cheese and Cracker assortment
Taco Bites
Lemon and Blueberry Trifle (recipe to follow)
Petit Fours (in lieu of a traditional cake, at the bride's request)
Phi Mu Punch (recipe to follow)
Sweet Tea
Coffee
Ice Water

We had too much food, which is probably my fault.  You see, I'm from New Orleans.  My Momma is from New Orleans.  We do food!  We do LOTS of food!  But, I am under the impression that I would rather have too much food than not enough, and when it comes to a celebration MORE IS BETTER!

I bought the chicken salad I used from Pimento's (a local cafe in town that has unbelievable chicken salad).  I bought the mini croissants from Sam's and just made up the sandwiches the day of the shower.  I am going to post several recipes that we used which are all easy and delicious.  The petit fours were purchased from a local bakery!  That was one of the bride's special requests, and we all know I am NOT a baker, so I wanted to get these done professionally.  They were DIVINE!!!!

Here are some pictures of the food table to give you an idea of what the spread looked like: