Ham and Cheese Football Sandwiches. Highly addictive and so easy to make! Slightly crispy and so flavorful on the outside, and warm, gooey and cheesy on the inside. You need to try these!
It’s September you guys! One of my favorite months! The weather is starting to cool off, I’m slowly transitioning out of my summer clothes and getting my sweaters ready!
And, it’s football season!
We’re in Wisconsin and people here are serious about football. Like, serious. and maybe even more serious about college football. Anyway, we’re getting ready y’all.
With football season and the first official day of fall right around the corner, I feel like I received this fabulous cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen at just the right time.
Fall. Sweaters. Cooler weather. Comfort food. My favorite kind of food!
Oven-Barbecued Beef Brisket, page 251, Mulligan Stew, page 257, Hollywood Chili, page 263, Pimento Cheeseburgers, pages 78- 79 (featured above), oh yes, these will most definitely be happening in my kitchen soon, and Peanut Butter Pie, page 161.
I am in cookbook heaven.
“The editors of Cook’s Country magazine spent a good part of the last decade crisscrossing the country looking for local gems in restaurants, BBQ joints, diners, seafood shacks, food festivals and with home cooks; along the way they became acquainted with the places and people as well as the food. The result of all of those miles spent on the road is this book, Cook’s Country Eats Local, a collection of 150 foolproof recipes that have flown under the national radar for far too long.”
How many local joints do you know of that have fabulous recipes that only the locals know about?Well, this cookbook helps to uncover some of the best of them!
The test kitchen has taken the guesswork out of recreating these restaurant favorites and regional specialties, “reviving and streamlining these unsung classics for the modern home kitchen and coming up with clever substitutions when regional ingredients are called for.”
The recipes are divided into four distinct regions:
New England and the Mid-Atlantic 38 recipes, including New England Bar Pizza, Chicken Riggies, Joe Booker Stew, Pittsburgh Wedding Soup, and Bee Sting Cake! Bee Sting Cake? I’m just gonna say this: yeasted cake, creamy filling and a crunchy honey-almond crown. I can’t wait to try this.
Appalachia and the South 46 recipes, including Pimento Cheeseburgers (oh yeah!), Maryland Crab Fluff, Cracklin’ Cornbread, and Jefferson Davis Pie (a brown sugar chess pie, named for President Jefferson Davis)!
The Midwest and Great Plains 31 recipes, including Iron Range Porketta, Green Bay Booyah, Wisconsin Cheddar Beer Soup; featured below, which I am making next! and Barberton Fried Chicken, and St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake!
Texas and the West 29 recipes, including Indoor Barbecue Beef Short Rib, Hollywood Chili, Jo Jo Potatoes, and Tick Tock Orange Sticky Rolls. You definitely want this recipe, you guys!
This cookbook has 150 recipes you should be making no matter where you live!
When I saw the Football Sandwiches on page 82, I knew I had to make these. And even though I have made a version of these before, I had to try ATK’s version.
ATK uses soft, white dinner rolls, spreads on yellow mustard, and stuffs them with smoky Black Forest Ham and Swiss cheese. Football Sandwiches are typically then brushed with a sauce that uses a whopping 12 tablespoons of butter as the base. ATK cut the fat down to 4 tablespoons and pumped up the flavor with finely chopped onions, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and plenty of poppy seeds. Letting the sandwiches sit for 10 minutes before baking allows the rolls to absorb the sauce. After about 30 minutes in the oven (20 covered and 10 uncovered), the sandwiches are slightly crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and loaded with oozing, melted cheese. Perfection.
And come on. . just look at them.
Football Sandwiches. Could they be more perfect?
Paul ate 5. And even the girls liked them. After they scraped off all the poppy seeds.
Please tell me other kids do this too? Why??!!!!
Make these the next time you’re watching the game and have friends over. Everyone will ask for the recipe. No joke.
And because you need more fabulous recipes from this cookbook, I’m giving away a copy! So, enter using the widget below and good luck! One person wins!
Now, go make these sandwiches!
- 12 square soft white dinner rolls
- 6 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 12 thin slices deli Black Forest ham (8 ounces)
- 12 thin slices deli Swiss cheese (8 ounces)
- pepper
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Slice rolls in half horizontally. Spread 4 tablespoons mustard evenly on cut sides of roll tops and bottoms. Arrange roll bottoms, cut side up and side by side, in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Fold ham slices in thirds, then once in half; place 1 slice on each roll bottom. Fold Swiss cheese like the ham, then place over ham. Season with pepper and cover with roll tops.
- Combine butter, onions and poppy seeds in bowl. Microwave until butter is melted and onion is softened, about 1 minute. Whisk Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and remaining 2 tablespoons mustard into butter mixture until combined. Generously brush tops and edges of sandwiches with all of butter mixture. Spoon any remaining solids over sandwiches.
- Cover dish with aluminum foil and let sit for 10 minutes to allow sandwiches to absorb sauce. Bake for 20 minutes. Then, uncover and continue baking until cheese is melted around the edges and the tops are slightly firm, 7 to 9 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe from Cook’s Country Eats Local, pages, 82-83. I rec’d permission from America’s Test Kitchen to publish this recipe here.
The Giveaway!!
Open to residents within the United States only.
Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. I was sent a copy of the cookbook to review from America’s Test Kitchen. All opinions expressed here are 100% my own.
Iron Range Porketta sounds like it has to be good.
peanut butter pie sounds so good!
Hollywood Chili
I would love the ATK book! These sandwiches look seriously delicious! 🙂
Pimento cheeseburgers look delicious!
That book looks pretty amazing. That PB pie? Yes please now. It’s hilarious, though, because I’m from Indiana and there’s nothing under Indy for food. Makes sense. I don’t remember distinctive dishes from my childhood.
These sandwiches look cheesy and melty and toasty. All the best things in a sandwich! The best thing about football is the FOOD.
Mir, yes!!! 🙂 the food!
I’m from Indiana, too and noticed that there wasn’t a Hoosier dish! I make these sandwiches frequently ,and the only difference in my recipe is a spread of mayo on the buns and lots of butter. I’ll cut back the next time I make this. They are so good. Coleslaw and chips round out the meal.
Vicky, yes these sandwiches are amazing!!! and I agree! coleslaw and chips sound great!!!
That looks incredible. Football season has just started here (but real football – not American football 😉 haha) and we have people round to watch the game and these would go down very well with our friends.
Dannii, your friends would LOVE these! 🙂
The Bee Sting Cake sounds awesome.
Yayyyy cookbooks! These sandwiches look perfect for game day snacking 🙂
The food is the ONLY way that I get through watching ALL the football with my hubby, so I am PUMPED about these sandwiches! I can’t wait to pretend-watch the game and eat 10 of these! Pinned!
I feel like football is a big deal most places, especially in small towns. It certainly is huge in my household! Hubs and I disagree on our favorite teams but I KNOW we will agree on these sammies being served while rooting for our favorite teams! These look seriously delish! Pinned! Cheers to a football and fabulous food!
These Football Sandwiches look delicious and the perfect recipe to start with.
What a fun cookbook! I love learning about regional eats. And hello to that fudge cake! YUM! These sandwiches look killer, Alice!
Yay for football and sweaters and boots! I’m eyeing all my favorite clothes in my closet and just waiting for the temperatures to drop…
These sandwiches look amazing! Having people over in a couple weeks and pinning these to add to our menu 🙂 What a fun cookbook too – love getting let it on all the local “secrets” when we travel and this bring it all to your home.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Oh boy…this is cookbook heaven! And I see they’ve included chicken riggies! Love that!! But these sandwiches – oh my! My mouth is watering! Thank you!
All these recipes sound so good!
I don’t think I recall my daughter scraping off poppy seeds off buns, she used to love poppy seeds and sesame seeds – I remember her not wanting to eat buns at one time if they were not covered in sesame seeds! Now onions were another story – she couldn’t stand buns with onions – she wouldn’t even want the onions scraped off as she said the buns still smelt weird! As for these sandwiches – they sound delicious – but I might have to save room had that Peanut Butter Pie been for dessert! Yup – that’s the recipe I’d have to go with!
The Test Kitchen books are just the best!! I love these burgers…game day or not!
This book looks pretty spectacular. The sandwiches are mouthwatering. I don’t do football but I will eat all the food!
I’m totally craving these football sandwiches, Alice! I will admit that I don’t like football at all, but I do look forward to game time because of the delicious snacks and drinks. This definitely looks like a game-time winner to me!
I need to get my hands on this book and make some burgers 🙂 !
I went to law school in St Louis and miss Gooey Butter Cake!
I would go with the Wisconsin beer cheese soup because I’ve never made it! I’m not sure if that makes me a bad Wisconsinite or not.
I just had these football sandwiches for the first time while watching the Badger game last weekend. I will definitely be making them sometime soon!
These sandwiches look fantastic, Alice!!So fun and perfect for game day! The food is my favorite part! Love ATK cookbooks and this one sounds awesome!
Football Sandwiches! yes please!
YUM!
I’d like to make the Bee Sting cake!
The babka looks amazing and I love making sweet breads!
Holy moly! Alice… I’d pick up the entire tray, have a seat on the couch, and just eat. I’m talking grease dripping down my chin and me licking my fingers! I love cooking for football parties and this is definitely going on my menu!
Pimento burgers sound pretty delicious! I love the photos from the cookbook! And the different regions featured.
Girl I need to make that pie!!! YES! Also these sandwiches are seriously perfect for football season.
Wow, these sandwiches look so legit! Asheley is a HUGE Black Forest Ham fan, so these obviously are right up her alley!
Definitely want to try the St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake!
Impossibly crispy pork cutlet sandwich
I would make Jo Jo potatoes first!
I would make the tailgate sandwiches, YUM!
Love these! Making them for a game this season for sure!!!
A lot of the recipes you mention sound good, but the Tick Tock Orange Sticky Rolls sound like get-in-my-belly! Ha!
Cook’s Country does it again! Wow there are so many recipes from this that I’d want to make. Thanks for the awesome giveaway love!
I think all of them sound so good! But that Bee Sting Cake really caught my eye!
Being a NYER I would have to make the babka first but after that I will travel!
Yummy! I could eat a whole tray of those sandwiches right now. 😀
I want to make the sandwiches that you made.
Peanut Butter Pie, for starters!
Football sandwiches.
I’m definitely making the football sandwiches!
oooh YUM!
Pimento cheeseburgers…yummy!
Those Tick Tock Orange Sticky Rolls would definitely be on my To Make list!
These sound AMAZING Alice. Yum, the crispy tops look to-die-for (and good to know that you didn’t use 12 tablespoons of butter on there too, my gosh!). I’ve never heard of a football sandwich but I do think that Aaron would love these! P.S I had a friend at school who used to pick the seeds and raisins out of any bread she ate. I thought it was weird. But obviously it’s a thing! xx
I would make the Oven-Barbecued Beef Brisket first.
This week end is the Alabama & LSU game, so I will be trying this awesome sounding recipie! Can’t wait to try it! Roll Tide Roll!
This week end is the Alabama & LSU game, so I can’t wait to try this awesome looking recipe! Just in case you are wondering who I am pulling for “Roll Tide Roll”!
I have always made a version of these ham biscuits but your football sandwiches look much more mouth watering. I am going to make them in place of my recipe. Thanks for the give away.
Hmmm. Sounds great with football, but I just discovered this recipe and this might be a bit unusual, but I’m making them as part of Easter brunch (ham for Easter, right?) with an egg and spinach bake, fresh fruit and an assortment of homemade mini muffins.
Sounds great to me!!!!! Have a great Easter! Make a lot because these sandwiches will go fast! 🙂
Thanks! You have a great Easter too. 😊
I would like to try the Football sandwiches, but can I prepare them earlier and refrigerate them? They sound yummy!
hi Judy! These sandwiches are best served right out of the oven. Not sure I would refrigerate them beforehand. They are best served warm. Sorry, I hope that helps!