I had my first taste of a Monte Cristo Sandwich in 1967 when I was touring with the Dorothy Lamour company of Hello Dolly! We stayed in a fine hotel in Dayton, Ohio, and on the hotel’s dining-room lunch menu was the Monte Cristo Sandwich. Once I tasted it, I knew that I had to make it for myself. The history of the sandwich is unclear, but its origin appears to be French. Click here for a history.
The basis for the sandwich is two slices of French toast with a filling of ham, turkey, and cheese, served with fruit sauce, which was how I first experienced it. In America, it’s often made with Swiss cheese, but I prefer a cheese that melts more evenly and has more flavor—the semi-soft Port Salut. If you can’t find Port Salut, you could substitute Monterrey Jack or even Brie with the rind removed.
The claim is that you can eat the orange rind to the Port Salut, but I prefer to remove it while it is very cold with a sharp paring knife.
Remove the rind from the cheese.
This sandwich is a perfect luncheon dish if you have leftover Thanksgiving turkey. And should you have leftover cranberry sauce, you could use that as the fruit for your Monte Cristo Sandwich.
For the Sauce
Heat the jam or preserves in a small pan over low heat with the lemon juice until it becomes almost liquid. I especially like to use either Bonne Maman red or black currant jam.
Bonne Maman Jams
(In this instance, I used black currant jam.) I find Bonne Maman jams to be superior to most American brands so I use them in all my recipes. However, you can use any fruit flavor that you prefer.
Add the thyme, dry mustard, cayenne, and black pepper.
Make the sauce.
Keep the sauce hot.
For the Sandwich
Make certain the cheese is at room temperature.
You’ll want to use a best-quality white bread with a good texture so that it won’t disintegrate as it fries. Take two slices of white bread and stack one half of the slices of turkey, ham, and cheese on each.
Layer the meats and cheese on the bread.
Top with the remaining two slices of bread.
In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs with the salt and black pepper, then beat in the milk. (I find with French toast recipes that salt and pepper offer a nice contrast to the sweetness of the sauce.) Soak both sides of the sandwiches in the egg mixture.
Dip sandwich in the egg mixture.
Heat the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, and brown the sandwiches on both sides, being certain that the cheese melts.
Fry the sandwiches in butter.
Spoon the hot fruit sauce over the The Monte Cristo Sandwiches and serve immediately.
Makes 2 sandwiches. (For other related meat and cheese sandwiches: see Croque Monsiuer, Croissant with Brie, Pear, and Ham.
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