Little Dish #2 – The Monte Cristo

Have you heard of this sandwich?? The Monte Cristo…it’s a fried ham and cheese sandwich, a variation of the French croque-monsieur. IF you have never tried one – you must. For those of you that have tried it, you are nodding your head in agreement! It’s definitely a comfort food. It’s cheesy, crispy, savory and sweet. I made them in culinary school and the other day saw them being made on the show Eat Street on the Food Channel. I was like ooooh I need to make those for Galen! So, here is my take on this famous sandwich! If you make it, leave me a comment what you thought of it!
I love how you get the crunch from the crispy crust, the chewy ham and gooey cheese! Such awesome mouth feel. The sweetness of the jelly really balances it too. I promise you’ll love it!

Monte Cristo
Recipe makes 2 sandwiches
4 pieces of good white bread with the crusts cut off (I used homemade bread)
2 slices of ham (about 1/8″ thick)
2 slices of Gruyere cheese or shredded
3 eggs
1/2 cup cream (or milk)
s & pp tt
3 Tablespoons butter
Raspberry jelly- heated in saucepan or microwave
Plastic wrap
Directions:
Beat the eggs with the cream and season with salt and pepper, set aside. Melt the butter in the microwave, then brush each piece of bread, both sides with a little butter. On top of 1 piece of bread, put 1 slice of ham then the cheese then top with another slice of bread. Press down on the sandwich to help seal it together. Squish the edges together to help seal the edges so your cheese won’t melt out! Do the same for the other pieces of bread. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes. This will help the sandwich to stay together and hold its shape.
Put the leftover melted butter into a nonstick pan and heat on medium heat. Remove the sandwiches from the plastic wrap and dip into the egg batter on both sides. Place in the pan and let it get nice and golden brown on each side.
Do the same for the other sandwich. Remove and top with a little raspberry jelly or syrup if you like!