Monto Cristo Recipe

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The Monte Cristo is another great sandwich recipe that you can easily be converted into a panini.  I used to love ordering a Monte Cristo as a late night snack at my local diner.  The combination of the sweet French Toast style bread and saltiness of the Ham and Swiss Cheese is great at any time of the day.

Monte Cristo Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• Bread Slices
• Ham
• Swiss Cheese

The Count of Monte Cristo is a classic book that was written by Alexandre Dumas and he had absolutely nothing to do with the Monte Cristo Sandwich.  This is a fact that you don’t really need to know to make a good sandwich but I thought I’d throw it in here anyway.  You never know what people are searching for in Google.  Maybe someone will find this information useful.

As usual, there are lots of options when making a Monte Cristo.  Starting with the choice of bread.  Since the bread will basically become French Toast you might way to try a nice egg bread like you’d get on Easter.  Or to make it heartier, go with a sour dough loaf and slice it thick.

Next thing you need to do is make the French toast batter.  Take 2 eggs and some milk and beat them in a bowl that’s large enough to fit a slice of bread.   If you want to jazz it up a little, you can add a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg.  Another option is just to use your favorite French Toast recipe.  I know that some people like a drop of vanilla extract in their French Toast so feel free to give that a try too.

Now it’s time for the sandwich part.  Ham and Swiss Cheese are the usual ingredients but it can also be made with Turkey.  Sometimes I have leftover gruyere from when I go on a fondue bender and so I’ll use it.  Gruyere is even better than regular Swiss.

Here’s the tricky part about making this sandwich in a panini press.  Coat one slice of bread in the egg/milk mixture and place it on the hot panini grill.  Then quickly add the ham and cheese and then coat the top piece of bread and place it on top.  You could dunk your whole sandwich in the mixture but I find that this way is a lot neater.  Cook it until it looks nice a crispy.

Serve up your Monte Cristo Panini with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and a side of your favorite jam.  And throw in a small cup of hot maple syrup for dipping too.  You can follow this Monte Cristo Recipe or come up with your own.  Either way, it’ll be great.