I’m an advocate of trying to make sure my kids get a warm breakfast while I am home. Now, typically during the week they are eating frozen pancakes, or French toast dipper sticks, and an occasional scrambled egg will go into the mix if my middle kid if feeling adventurous, but on the weekend, I try to provide them a warm meal. If you may not have heard, I am also making batches of bread throughout the week, and I have taught each of my kids how to make a standard no knead loaf from Jim Lahey’s book . My daughter and I made bread on Thursday, and we had a bit left over on Saturday morning. So, I decided I would make some French toast. It was really good French toast at that, and as a couple of my kids devoured a few slices, my oldest decided he wanted something else, leaving me with a few leftover slices. My wife and kids took off for their morning schedule, and as I sat there and looked at the leftover French toast, I decided I would surprise my wife when she got home and introduce her to the Monte Cristo sandwich.
Let’s get started.
Ingredients:
- 2 slices of leftover bread
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of cinnamon
- 2 slices of Swiss cheese
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 3 slices of thinly sliced ham
- powdered sugar, optional
- Pickle slices, optional
- 1 tbsp canola oil
To a bowl, add the eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Give that a good whisk.
Add the slices of bread and make sure they get a generous soaking.
Heat a large skillet on medium heat and toss in the oil. Let that heat up for a minute or so, then lay in the soaked bread. Cook for a few minutes on each side, or until they are cooked through. Remove the French toast from the skillet and set them aside.
Wipe the skillet clean, then bring the skillet back to the burner, and set it to low, to medium heat.
Spread the Dijon mustard on one slice of the French toast, and set it into the skillet, mustard side up. Lay a slice of the Swiss cheese on top, then the ham, then another slice of cheese, and top it with the remaining slice of French toast.
Cook on low heat, and place a cover over the skillet. Cook for a few minutes on one side, then remove the cover, and flip it over. Your goal is to heat everything through and get that cheese to melt.
When you are ready to plate, remove the sandwich from the skillet, slice in half, and sprinkle a bit of powdered sugar over the top.
The result is everything you want in a sweet and savory sandwich. I was skeptical if my wife would like the sandwich, as it had that sweetness of the French toast, as well as mustard. I don’t think she likes mustard. But, she loved the sandwich, and I did was well, oh, and that powered sugar, well, it actually brought the sandwich together. Everything about it worked, and now I think I will make more French toast next weekend! I hope you enjoy.
Monte Cristo Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 slices of leftover bread
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of cinnamon
- 2 slices of Swiss cheese
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 3 slices of thinly sliced ham
- powdered sugar optional
- Pickle slices optional
- 1 tbsp canola oil
Instructions
- To a bowl, add the eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Give that a good whisk.
- Add the slices of bread and make sure they get a generous soaking.
- Heat a large skillet on medium heat and toss in the oil. Let that heat up for a minute or so, then lay in the soaked bread. Cook for a few minutes on each side, or until they are cooked through. Remove the French toast from the skillet and set them aside.
- Wipe the skillet clean, then bring the skillet back to the burner, and set it to low, to medium heat.
- Spread the Dijon mustard on one slice of the French toast, and set it into the skillet, mustard side up. Lay a slice of the Swiss cheese on top, then the ham, then another slice of cheese, and top it with the remaining slice of French toast.
- Cook on low heat, and place a cover over the skillet. Cook for a few minutes on one side, then remove the cover, and flip it over. Your goal is to heat everything through and get that cheese to melt.
- When you are ready to plate, remove the sandwich from the skillet, slice in half, and sprinkle a bit of powdered sugar over the top.