Monte Cristos

Who doesn’t love a Monte Cristo? Deli meats and cheese sandwiched between thick bread, dipped and fried like French toast, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and served with a side of sweet jam – my mouth waters just thinking about it.

I’ve only made these sandwiches a few times at home, but they’re always one of my favorite things to order for brunch or lunch at restaurants. When I have made them, I’ve always made a classic version with ham, turkey, Swiss cheese, and raspberry jam on the side. I had a few ideas about how I could play with this sandwich to make it a little different and special, though, which I decided to try when I made them recently.

Basically, rather than serving the raspberry jam on the side, I put it right on the sandwich. I also mixed it with a little bit of honey mustard, and it became a spread that was equal parts sweet and tangy, and entirely delicious. I also added bacon to the sandwiches, because I can think of very few food items that aren’t made better by the addition of bacon. My minor little changes resulted in a kicked-up version of this classic sandwich that my whole family really loved.

I’m listing only the ingredients, not the amounts, because they’ll vary according to how many sandwiches you’re making. I used a couple of slices each of turkey and ham, two strips of bacon, and one slice of cheese for each sandwich.

Monte Cristos

Sliced deli ham
Sliced turkey breast
Sliced Swiss cheese
Cooked Bacon
Thick-sliced white or sourdough bread
Eggs, whisked well with a splash of milk and a pinch of salt and pepper
Raspberry jam
Honey mustard
Powdered sugar

1. Preheat a griddle to medium-high; coat the surface with butter or cooking spray.

2. To assemble sandwiches, top a slice of bread with ham, turkey, cheese, bacon, and the other slice of bread.

3. Dip the assembled sandwiches, one at a time, in the egg/milk mixture, then immediately transfer to the griddle. Cook until each side is golden brown.

4. Mix together raspberry jam and honey mustard (using more jam than mustard in your mixture) and spread a small amount on each sandwich. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.