Chicken Cordon Bleu Sliders

Late May. Cody is on day one hundred and thirty-five of his sentence. The seventeenth Saturday visit. He has started writing his first piece for the Tulsa Library chapbook intensive. He is keeping the topic from me until the chapbook prints in late August. I am respecting that.

The Sonic shifts have moved fully into summer mode. The four-to-eight rush stretches sometimes to eight-thirty. The kitchen at the Sonic has been over ninety degrees most afternoons since the second week of May. Mama’s Dollar General has had its summer hiring round and a new stocker named Rachel has been training with Mama for two weeks. Mama says Rachel is the kind of stocker who is going to be running her own store in five years.

Sunday I made chicken cordon bleu sliders because the recipe was a fun party-style dinner I had been wanting to try and because the cordon bleu technique scales nicely down to slider-size. The recipe is from Averie Cooks. The math: a 12-pack of King’s Hawaiian sweet rolls, $4.99. Eight ounces of deli-sliced ham, $2.99. Eight ounces of Swiss cheese from the deli, $2.49. Two cooked-and-shredded chicken thighs, $1.49 worth from the markdown rack. Three tablespoons butter, two teaspoons Dijon, a teaspoon poppy seeds, a teaspoon Worcestershire for the glaze. Total: about $11.20 for twelve sliders.

The technique is the assembly and the glaze brush. You slice the whole pack of Hawaiian rolls in half horizontally without separating them — you want the rolls to stay attached as a single sheet so they bake together. You set the bottom half in a 9-by-13 pan. You layer the shredded chicken, the ham, and the Swiss cheese across the bottom. You set the top half on. You whisk together three tablespoons of melted butter, two teaspoons of Dijon mustard, a teaspoon of poppy seeds, and a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. You brush the glaze generously across the tops of all twelve rolls.

You bake at 350 for fifteen minutes covered with foil so the cheese melts without the tops burning, then ten more minutes uncovered for the glaze to caramelize. The tops come out golden and sticky and slightly sweet, and the cheese inside has melted and merged with the chicken and ham into a single warm filling.

I served them Sunday at six. Mama said, when she ate the first one, baby, this is the kind of party food I would order at a wedding. I had eight at home; I packed four in a small foil pan and walked them down the street to Mrs. Henderson’s door. She was at her kitchen table working a crossword. I knocked. She came to the door. I handed her the foil pan. She said, baby, this is the third dish you have brought me this year. I said, you have given me five kitchen tools, Mrs. Henderson. She said, that is fair. She let me in. I had a glass of iced tea at her kitchen table. We talked for an hour. The gifts go both ways now.

The recipe is below. The trick is the unseparated rolls — slice horizontally as a single sheet, layer, top, glaze, bake. The slider stays attached and you tear them apart at the table. The poppyseed-Dijon glaze is non-negotiable.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 12 sliders

Ingredients

1 package (12 count) Hawaiian slider rolls
2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded or thinly sliced
6 oz deli ham, thinly sliced
6 oz Swiss cheese, sliced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray or a thin coat of butter.
Slice the rolls. Without separating the individual rolls, use a serrated knife to slice the entire slab of Hawaiian rolls in half horizontally. Place the bottom half in the prepared baking dish.
Layer the fillings. Arrange the sliced ham evenly across the bottom half of the rolls, then layer the shredded or sliced chicken over the ham. Lay the Swiss cheese slices evenly on top of the chicken, covering as much surface as possible.
Add the top. Place the top half of the rolls back on. Press down gently to help the layers settle together.
Make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder until fully combined. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Brush and top. Spoon or brush the butter glaze generously and evenly over the tops of the rolls, letting it soak into the seams. Sprinkle poppy seeds over the top.
Bake covered. Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the rolls are warmed through.
Uncover and finish. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 8–10 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and slightly crisp.
Serve. Pull apart into individual sliders and serve immediately while warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chicken Cordon Bleu Sliders — Twelve Sliders for Sunday and Monday and a Plate for the Neighbor