Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Ham and Cheese Stromboli with Jalapeno Pepper Jam

Talk about your ultimate hot ham and cheese sandwich alright.  Because this here concoction takes the cake for sure.  It is rolled layers of hot ooey gooey cheese and sweet smokey ham that is followed with a slight tang from the mayo and pimentos.  And lest we forget to mention the jalapeno pepper jam.  With it's sweetness and it's tangyness that fits right in with everyone else, yet stands out on it's own as well.  Then you take something like pizza dough and wrap it all up inside.  Well that sounds like heaven to me.  And it pretty much tasted that way as well.

2 refrigerated pizza dough crusts (comes in a tube by the biscuits)
real mayonnaise (I only use Hellman's)
about 2 cups of cooked ham (diced, I used some leftover praline-mustard glazed smoked shank ham that I had defrosted from my deep freeze)
12 slices of Colby-jack deli cheese
1 1/2 tsp. of pimentos (optional)
1-2 tsp. of jalapeno pepper jam (optional)
1 egg (at room temperature and beaten)

-Preheat your oven to 375*.  Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and set to the side.   Lightly flour a 12"x12" area on your clean counter top.  Remove pizza dough from it's packaging and carefully unroll, making sure not to unevenly stretch it's shape.  Place it on your floured surface and kind of pat and stretch it out some, keeping it in a squarish (that's a word to me) shape.  Go ahead and spread a nice thin and even layer of mayo over the crust, keeping it about an inch or so from the edges.  Sprinkle on 1/2 of your ham, half of your pimentos, and about a teaspoon drizzle of your jalapeno pepper jam all over the mayo.  Then just blanket the top of it all with your cheese slices, again keeping the outer inch of the crust clear of the goodies.  Starting from one side, using both hands, start to roll it up like if you were making homemade cinnamon rolls (you don't want it to be too tight, not too loose, but somewhere in between).  Go ahead and pinch the seam and open ends closed and carefully place it on your foil-lined baking sheet with the pinched seam down.  Then I just lightly patted it down a bit to flatten it out a smidgen (I was afraid of air pockets).  Repeat these directions with your second crust and the remaining ingredients (except the egg) so that you have two stromboli 'logs' on your baking sheet with space between them.  Go ahead and brush your beaten egg onto the tops and the sides of each 'log' in a nice evenly thin layer.  Place it in the center of your oven and bake at 375* for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is a nice golden brown.  Remove them from the oven once they are done and allow them to sit and stand for about 5-7 minutes before slicing.  Slice them on the diagonal just like you would for French bread (makes it look fancier).  Serves 4-6.  Enjoy!

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