Hawaiian Ham Croissant Food

HAM AND CHEESE CROISSANTS

Steps:

• Arrange racks in the upper third and lower thirds of the oven. Bring a skillet of water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Transfer the skillet to the floor of the oven and close the door. (The steam released inside the oven will create an ideal proofing environment for the pastries.) Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Let the dough sit for 5 minutes at room temperature. Unwrap (save the plastic wrap for proofing) and place on a very lightly floured surface. If the dough has shrunk during chilling, roll it out again to a slab that's 16 inches long and 15 inches wide. Dust off any excess flour.
• Use a wheel cutter to trim 1/2 inch of dough from all four sides, straightening and squaring them off, creating a slab that's 15 inches long by 14 inches wide. Using a ruler, cut the slab lengthwise into 5 equal strips each measuring 3 inches wide. Cut each strip in half crosswise, creating 10 rectangles.
• Working with one rectangle of dough at a time, cover one half with a slice of ham, folding it as needed to leave a 1/2-inch border along the short side. Then, top with 1/2 ounce (2 tablespoons) of the cheese. Roll the dough into a snug spiral, starting at the end with the ham and cheese, then transfer the spiral to one of the prepared baking sheets, resting it on the seam. Repeat with the remaining dough, ham and cheese, dividing between the sheets and spacing evenly. Very loosely cover with plastic wrap so the pastries have some room to expand.
• Open the oven and stick your hand inside: It should be humid but not hot, as the water in the skillet will have cooled. You want the pastries to proof at 70 to 75 degrees (any hotter and the butter will melt, leading to a denser pastry). Gently place the baking sheets inside the oven on the two racks and let the pastries proof until they're doubled in size, extremely puffy and jiggle delicately on the baking sheet, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• When the pastries are proofed, remove the baking sheets from the oven and carefully uncover them. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 20 minutes while you heat the oven. Remove the skillet from the oven and heat to 375 degrees.
• In a small bowl, stir the yolks and heavy cream until streak-free. Remove the baking sheets from the refrigerator and use a pastry brush to gently brush the surfaces of each pastry with the yolk mixture. Transfer the sheets to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets and switch racks and continue to bake until the pastries are deeply browned, another 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheets.

HAWAIIAN HAM CROISSANT

Steps:

• Combine cream cheese and pineapple in small bowl. Spread 1 tablespoon of pineapple-cream cheese filling on each cut surface of roll.
• To assemble sandwich, layer bottom portion with roll slice spread with cream cheese filling, slice of cheese and ham slice. Top with roll.

HAM AND DIJON CROISSANT SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a small bowl, combine softened butter with the Dijon, chopped onion, and poppyseeds.
• Spread generously onto both (inner) sides of the split croissants.
• Place one slice each of ham and Swiss cheese into each croissant, and replace tops.
• Wrap each croissant or Hawaiian roll in a square of foil, sealing carefully. At this point sandwiches may be baked right away, or refrigerate or freeze (use a freezer bag) for later use.
• Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 15-20 minutes, until hot. If frozen, bake at 300 F for about 25-30 minutes, until heated through.
• Serve hot, or at room temperature. Good sides are soup or salad, and fresh fruit for dessert.
• NOTE: If using mini-rolls, you may bake them in a buttered baking dish (no need to individually wrap).

HAWAIIAN HAM BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a greased 2-qt. baking dish, layer ham, onion, green pepper, raisins and pineapple. , In a large saucepan, combine brown sugar, cornstarch, mustard and salt. Stir in pineapple juice and vinegar until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened., Remove from heat; stir in soy sauce. Pour over pineapple. Cover and bake 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Serve with rice.