Ham and Cheese Sliders

Super Bowl Sunday at the altar. Forty-six people — the count climbs annually, like the tamale count at Thanksgiving, like the stick count on Father's Day, like every number in the Rivera universe that only knows how to grow. The menu: birria tacos (the signature), smoked wings (three flavors: classic buffalo, habanero-mango, dry rub), queso fundido, the smoked nachos that debuted last year and which have become the most requested Super Bowl item, and a new addition: smoked pork belly burnt ends with a maple-chipotle glaze that I developed in January's test kitchen and which are so good that Roberto ate six of them and said, "These go on the menu." From Roberto, who does not give menu recommendations, this is a mandate.

Forty-six people in the backyard. The altar at full capacity. Four grills running, two smokers smoking, the flat-top griddle producing smash burgers for the kids who do not care about the Super Bowl and who want burgers and corn and the right to run through the yard with Fuego, who has become the mascot of every Rivera gathering and who spends these events eating dropped food with a efficiency that suggests the dog has studied the layout of the yard and knows exactly where food falls most frequently (answer: near Diego).

Sofia did not watch the Super Bowl. She sat at the outdoor table with three friends from soccer and they talked about school and boys and soccer and food, in that order, and when I brought them a plate of burnt ends Sofia said, "Dad, these are sophisticated." The word again. The word she uses for food that has layers, that has complexity, that makes her close her eyes and think. She is ten. She will be eleven in January. She is becoming a person whose palate I respect, which is a strange and wonderful thing to say about your child.

The Super Bowl party is the unofficial start of the Rivera entertainment season — Super Bowl in February, Easter in March/April, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Fourth of July, Great Chile Day, Dia de los Muertos, Thanksgiving, Christmas. The calendar of fire. The annual rotation of gatherings that form the skeleton of our family year. Each one is a tradition. Each one is a meal. Each one is a chapter in the story that the fire is writing.

At Rivera's, the new menu items launched this week. The smoked short ribs are selling well — thirty orders a day, mostly at dinner. The white bean and green chile soup is a hit with the lunch crowd. The chicken salad is — present. It exists on the menu for the people who want it. I do not judge them. I do not understand them. But I feed them. That is the whole point.

The burnt ends were the star of the day — Roberto’s mandate, Sofia’s “sophisticated,” and forty-six people’s proof that the smoker and I understand each other. But the night after a party like that, when the grills are cold and Fuego is finally asleep and I’m standing in the kitchen trying to feed just the four of us without firing anything back up, I reach for sliders. Ham and cheese sliders — sticky-topped, pull-apart, done in thirty minutes — are what the Rivera kitchen looks like when the calendar of fire takes a breath. They’re not on the Super Bowl menu. They’re the Monday after it.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 12 sliders

Ingredients

12 Hawaiian sweet rolls, kept connected as a sheet
3/4 lb deli ham, thinly sliced
6 slices Swiss cheese (or provolone)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Pinch of salt

Instructions

Preheat. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray or a thin layer of butter.
Slice the rolls. Without separating the individual rolls, use a serrated knife to slice the entire sheet of rolls in half horizontally. Place the bottom half in the prepared baking dish.
Layer the filling. Arrange the sliced ham evenly over the bottom layer of rolls, overlapping as needed to cover completely. Lay the cheese slices over the ham in a single layer.
Top and close. Place the top half of the rolls over the cheese to close the sliders.
Make the butter glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, poppy seeds, Italian seasoning, and a pinch of salt until fully combined.
Brush generously. Pour and brush the butter glaze evenly over the tops and sides of the rolls, making sure it seeps into the crevices between rolls.
Cover and bake. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 15 minutes, until the cheese is fully melted and the rolls are warmed through.
Uncover and finish. Remove the foil and bake an additional 3–5 minutes until the tops are golden brown and slightly caramelized.
Rest and pull apart. Let the sliders rest for 2 minutes before using a spatula or knife to separate them along the natural seams. Serve warm directly from the pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Ham and Cheese Sliders — Roberto Said Put It on the Menu