“Did you get the e-mail about the Men’s Club breakfast?” Kirby Horton asks hesitantly as Mark and I arrived at 7 a.m. Sunday to make breakfast at church.

No, I replied, I did not. “Well,” Kirby says, “We voted to stop doing breakfast.” I think he expects me to be devastated. I am not.

Serving breakfast at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church has been a tradition for as long as I can remember. It is a Men’s Club ministry and I slid in on the backside one year when Mark’s entire breakfast team failed to show up and he called me in a panic. I have been an honorary member of the Men’s Club ever since.

I enjoyed it. Team Six had a certain flair, I must say. We made eggs to order. We did elaborate casseroles. We were famous for our sausage, egg and cheese flips. Well, maybe not famous. At least well known.

But this getting up at 6 a.m. on a Sunday to make breakfast was starting to wear on me. I am not sorry it’s ending. Happily, on my last Sunday I delivered one of my greatest triumphs: ham and cheese rolls.

Normally, this is football food for the Mayhews, but I decided that if I made them for the SEC championship game (go War Eagles!) that Mark and I would eat the entire pan and that would not be a good thing. So I made them for church breakfast. I am happy to report that everyone just lapped them up. You can’t go far wrong with anything that is oozing butter and these things just ooze butter.

So church breakfast is done. But Kirby has an even better plan. We’re going to start doing brunch once a month. That opens up a whole new set of possibilities. Eggs Benedict, anyone? At a decent hour?

Ham and cheese rolls

1 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup yellow mustard
2 tablespoons finely diced onion
2 tablespoons poppy seed
Boar’s Head Parmesan ham
Baby Swiss cheese
Jezebel Sauce
Finger rolls

Jezebel Sauce

1 18-ounce jar apple jelly
1 18-ounce jar pineapple preserves
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine butter, mustard, onion and poppy seeds.

Remove the entire slab of rolls from the pan. Slice the slab without separating the rolls. Spread each cut side with the butter mixture. You will probably have some of the butter mixture left over. Layer ham and cheese on the bottom half of the rolls. Spread Jezebel Sauce over the top. Return top half. Put the rolls back in the pan and cut through each individual roll.

Cover the pan in foil and bake for 20 minutes or until rolls are hot and cheese has melted.

Note: Leftover Jezebel Sauce is extremely yummy poured over a block of cream cheese and served with crackers.



3 Comments

  1. julie hendrix
    julie hendrixReply
    December 10, 2010 at 7:34 pm

    well the Reinhardts DID think St Paul’s breakfasts were over so I missed this little beauty, but that is a mighty fine looking recipe that will definitely be saved for use in the near future….

  2. julie hendrix
    julie hendrixReply
    December 10, 2010 at 7:35 pm

    PS love the snow

  3. Andrew
    December 12, 2010 at 2:09 am

    This is one of those great, classic potluck and party recipes that I love. Last time I made it, I decided to go a little sweet–adding a little brown sugar between the ham and cheese, and adding a can of crushed pineapple to the sauce. The bits of pineapple browned perfectly for a crunch-topped sandwich. It was a great change to a wonderful recipe, that made it easy to take to a breakfast potluck at work!

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