Putting The Monte Cristo Together

• The beauty of this sandwich lies in the convenience of its ingredients, typically ham, chicken or turkey meat, Swiss cheese and bread. The most basic construction is a slice of bread, a slice of Swiss cheese, a layer of chicken or turkey, a slice of ham, another slice of Swiss cheese, another slice of bread, and then repeat to create a double-decker sandwich. With this setup each Monte Cristo consists of three slices of bread separated by alternating layers of meat and cheese. Smearing mustard or mayonnaise onto the insides of the bottom and top slices of the bread is optional.

Prepping The Monte Cristo for Refrigeration

• Place the Monte Cristo in the center of a large sheet of plastic cling wrap. Using either your hand, the bottom side of a skillet or a small dicing board, gently press down on the Monte Cristo. Try to squish it to half its original height, and then secure it tightly within the plastic cling wrap. Refrigerate the sandwich for up to 24 hours. This allows the sandwich's layers to congeal and for its flavors to meld.

Baking The Monte Cristo

• Coating and baking the Monte Cristo seals it within a pocket of golden, crunchiness. To begin, preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the Monte Cristo from the refrigerator, unwrap it and cut it into triangles or fourths. Secure the cuts with toothpicks. Dip each cut into an egg and milk mixture. Then coat each cut in either panko breadcrumbs or crushed cereal and arrange them in rows on a cookie sheet. Leave an inch of space between each wedge so hot air can circulate freely around it. Drizzle melted margarine or butter over the cuts. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until brown and crisp.

Monte Cristo Variations

• Traditional recipes call for dusting the cooked Monte Cristo with confectioner's sugar and serving jam on the side. Apricot preserves and cranberry sauce mixed with a little sour cream work just as well. How you substitute and incorporate the Monte Cristo's ingredients is entirely up to you. For example, smear the jam or preserves onto the bread as opposed to serving them separately. Swap the regular store-bought ham for some freshly cut prosciutto. Substitute the Swiss cheese with goat cheese. Augment the protein content of the sandwich by including a fried egg layer. Think outside of standard white bread and grab some rustic country bread. Or eliminate the need for dipping the sandwich into an egg-milk mixture and use store-bought French toast instead.