Monte Cristo Sandwich

Kind of like a grilled cheese sandwich and kind of like French toast, the Monte Cristo sandwich is almost as easy to make as it is to eat.

The history of the Monte Cristo sandwich starts in France sometime around 1910. The French sandwich is called a Croque-Monsieur, which loosely translates to “Mister Crunch” in English. I like Monte Cristo sandwiches, but I think I would order them more often if I could order a Mister Crunch.

The Croque-Monsieur is made with ham and either emmental or Gruyere cheese. The Croque-Monsieur is grilled and served as a grilled cheese sandwich. Sometimes, the top slice of bread has additional cheese melted on to it, making the diner eat the sandwich with a knife and fork like an open sandwich and sometimes it is served with béchamel sauce. When a fried egg is added to the top of a Croque-Monsieur, it is called a Croque-Madame.

Once Mister Crunch made it across the Atlantic, things started to get more complicated. What started as a simple and elegant sandwich turned into a mixture of French toast and grilled cheese. Today, the standard Monte Cristo sandwich has ham and cheese, but that is just about the only thing all the various recipes have in common. In fact, there are recipes for the Monte Cristo that use turkey rather than ham. So the question is "what is the real recipe for a Monte Cristo sandwich?"

Usually, the basic Monte Cristo sandwich is two slices of white bread with a couple of slices of ham and a couple of slices of cheese. The whole thing is dipped into an egg and milk mixture and then fried like French toast. Sometimes, three slices of bread are used and sometimes the egg mixture is an actual French toast batter.

This is the way we learned to make a Monte Cristo at cooking school and it’s the recipe I use when I make the sandwich at home. Some restaurants deep-fry their Monte Cristos, but since I don’t know of many people who have a Fry-o-later in their kitchens, I’m going with the pan fry method.

If you have a griddle, this is the perfect time to use it. A griddle will allow you to make more than one sandwich at a time.

• 2 slices of bread per sandwich (white or egg bread work well)
• 2 slices of ham per sandwich
• 2 slices of turkey per sandwich
• 2 slices of sharp Swiss cheese per sandwich
• ½ cup of mayonnaise
• ½ cup of Dijon mustard
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup of milk
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• Butter to grease the pan or griddle
• Confectioner’s sugar (for dusting the sandwich)
• Jam to serve on the side (blackberry or red currant is very nice)

1. Mix together the mayonnaise and the Dijon mustard, set aside.
2. Beat together the eggs, milk, and nutmeg until well-bended and just a bit foamy.
3. Set the pan you are using over a medium high heat.
4. Place a pat of butter in the pan, enough to coat the bottom. You can use more if you like.
5. Spread a thin layer of the mayonnaise/Dijon mixture on the bread.
6. Place a slice of Swiss cheese on one slice of bread.
7. Top with two slices of ham.
8. Top with two slices of turkey.
9. Top with one slice of Swiss cheese.
10. Top with a slice of bread that has been spread with a thin layer of the mayonnaise/Dijon mixture.
11. Trim the crusts off of the bread.
12. Dip the bread into the egg mixture.
13. Flip it over so that both sides of the sandwich are coated with the batter.
14. Place the sandwich in the frying pan and fry for about three minutes per side.
15. Add more butter between sandwiches or when it seems necessary.
16. Remove to a cutting board and slice in half on the diagonal.
17. Dust with the confectioner’s sugar.
18. Serve with the jam on the side.

• If you know ahead of time that you are going to be making Monte Cristos, assembling the sandwich, trimming the crusts, and wrapping them in plastic beforehand is really a good idea. For some reason, wrapping the sandwiches in plastic and letting them rest helps them stay together while they fry.
• For the truly hungry, a double-decker sandwich made with three slices of bread is very satisfying.
• Experiment with your favorite luncheon meats and cheeses. I like spicy salami and provolone cheese.

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