just roll with it.

Ham and Cheese Rolls & Orange Rolls

Orange Rolls on the left, Ham and Cheese Rolls on the right

I'm perfectly aware how corny the title of this post is, but lacking creativity, I'm keeping it. After our brief family trip to Michigan, my brother and I returned home a few days before our parents. For me, this almost always means cooking experiments using what ingredients we have on hand. This particular day, I found that the only not-frozen meat in the entire house was 5 slices of smoked ham, though we had lots of cheese.
I decided to whip up a batch of basic white dough in our bread maker, the same recipe we usually use for cinnamon rolls, and split the dough into one half ham and cheese rolls, and the other half orange rolls made with the citrus right from our backyard.
Since not everyone has a bread maker, obviously the basic dough recipe can change. I suggest substituting any white bread dough you have tried before and liked.

Ham and Cheese Rolls
One half batch of basic white bread dough
Spread:
6 TB butter, melted
3 TB dijon mustard
1 TB honey
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped and sauteed until translucent
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Filling:
2 oz thinly sliced Gruyere
2 oz strong white cheese, I used white cheddar for half and parmesan for half and I liked both
2 oz Monterey Jack
6-8 thin slices smoked ham, enough to create a single layer

First, flour the surface and roll the dough to 1/4-1/2 inch thick. I made a rectangle of about 12x18 inches, but it depends on your dough.
Stir together the spread ingredients and spread evenly over the dough, going up to 1/2 inch from the edges. Cover with the cheeses, distributing the three kinds evenly over the dough. Top with the sliced ham.
Roll up the dough either way you like, depending on if you want lots of rolls or larger rolls. Again, this is personal preference.
Cut with a sharp knife into rolls about 1-1 1/2 inches long. Place in a buttered baking dish (mine fit well in a large pie plate or cake pan). Set aside to rise in a warm place about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the risen rolls about 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.


Orange Rolls
One half batch white bread dough
Spread:
6 TB butter, room temperature
3 TB orange zest
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp orange or lemon extract
dash of cloves
salt, to taste

Flour the surface and roll the dough to 1/4-1/2 inch think. I made a rectangle of about 12x18 inches, but it depends on your dough.
Stir together the spread ingredients. Use about a tablespoon to butter a baking dish. For this many rolls, I normally use a 10 inch pie plate or cake pan.
Spread the mixture evenly over the dough, covering up to about a half inch from the edge. Roll up the dough, and cut with a sharp knife into rolls about 1-1 1/2 inches long. Place in the baking dish, and set aside to rise in a warm place about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the risen rolls about 40 minutes, or until golden brown.

I didn't think these rolls needed any frosting, but if you want to make one, I suggest the following.
Frosting:
4 oz cream cheese
2 TB whipping cream
2 TB orange zest
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
Powdered sugar, until it's the thickness and sweetness that you like
Beat together all the ingredients, adding the powdered sugar and beating until it's fluffy and delicious. Serve with warm rolls.

Let me know what you think of these variations on the cinnamon roll! My brother was skeptical that something in the shape of a cinnamon roll could taste good made with ham and cheese, or with orange for that matter, but half of each pan later, he was convinced.