Monte Cristo

Ever since my dad had his first stroke years ago, we always tried to have a lighter Noche Buena fare. For Noche Buena 2012, I prepared Monte Cristo to complement my sister's Minestrone Soup. Monte Cristo is simply a french toast with ham and melted cheese. It's a leveled up version of french toast, a savory french toast. I'd like to share my take on Monte Cristo. This could be served for breakfast or as snacks or baon. Anything that has cheese is always a comfort food for me. :) 

Try this one for a change. I'm pretty sure that kids and adults will love this dish. It's a nice to have this too with a creamy tomato soup or any tomato-based soup like minestrone. 

Happy Cooking! 

Ingredients:

2 Large Eggs
3/4 cup Fresh Milk
Salt & Pepper
8 slices of loaf bread
4 slices of ham
4 slices of edam or cheddar
4 slices of emmentaler or mozzarella
1 1/2 tablespoons Mustard

3 tablespoons Butter


Procedure: 

1. Prepare the batter - Whip the eggs and add the milk, a dash of salt and pepper. Mix well. Set aside. 
2. To make the sandwich - Spread a thin layer of mustard on 1 slice of the bread and spread a pat of butter on another slice of bread. Top the two slices of bread with edam and emmentaler cheeses and add a slice of ham in the middle. Enclose the sandwich. 
3. Heat a nonstick pan and add a little butter about half a tablespoon or use a no-stick cooking spray and swirl the pan. While waiting for the pan to heat up, dip the sandwich in the batter. Pan-fry the sandwich, wait for the cheese to melt a little before turning the it to the other side. When the sandwich is golden brown & the cheeses have melted, transfer it to a plate with paper towel to drain the excess oil. 
4. Slice the sandwiches into triangles and serve.