This is a fool proof recipe, but I agree with Vange's suggestions. This recipe can be very successfully accomplished in a pan with clarified butter. I like the results better than deepfrying, and the flavor is so much better. I might also suggest using eggbread, because it looks so beautiful on the plate when you're finished. I love strawberry preserves with mine along with the powdered sugar.
I'm not a big grease fan and to some that might be the best part of this sandwich. I cooked the first two sandwiches according to the recipe. To no surprise the grease took over the flavor. As a result, I decided to eliminate the grease for the rest and lightly coated the pan. I cooked it like I would a grilled cheese. The sandwich was DELICIOUS and my mind was put at ease b/c I was not clogging my arteries. I also used Hawaiian Bread and dipped them in blackberry jelly.
Excellent sandwich for students to make with extra stuff lying around the house. Subed Old Cheddar for Swiss and fried it in a pan with just a little margarine like french toast. Absolutely amazing.
I was very curious about this sandwich so decided to make it for dinner. My husband and I with raised brows took our first bite and were pleasantly surprised. Again with curiousity we tried our next bites with strawberry jam. Very tasty! But I honestly don't think I'll make it again unless I happen to have some odd reason to gain weight. I just can't justify eating a batter dipped sandwich. Hubby thought we should have deep fried candy bars with it hehe. Good recipe but not worth the calories.
This IS the monte cristo from the Blue Bayou at Disneyland. I've eaten it many times. Excellent recipe and simple to prepare.
So many reviews include ways to change this sandwich because of it being deep fried. Please don't; this is what the sandwich is. If you want to do it differently, create a recipe making a sandwich the way you like it, but don't go telling people how to change it to make it taste worse. Oh yeah, another thing... no one cares what you think or hour husband thinks or your dog thinks... it's not about YOU; get over yourself!
I made this the other night when we were low on groceries.......what a pleasant surprise.....This was awesome!!!! It tasted just like the one at Bennigan's. I left out the ham since I didn't have any, and subbed American cheese since thats what I had, and doubled the batter as other reviewers suggested. I couldn't find my FryDaddy, so I pan-fried it in a deep skillet in about an inch of oil........worked perfectly!! I served with Brandied Blackberry Preserves and it was delicious! Thanks for a cheap and easy recipe to add to the rotation!
You can make these bit size if you take one piece of bread, cut the crust off, and roll flat with a rolling pin. Layer on a slice of cheese, turkey, and ham and then roll up. Secure with four toothpicks, spaced evenly, and cut into 4 pieces. You dip the pieces individually in the batter and fry them up. They were so cute!
Perfect! I used jalapeno Monterey Jack instead of Swiss. One user commented it was hard to keep the sandwich together, so I inserted the toothpicks at such an angle to the bread, that they were barely sticking out. This held together much more securely than just inserting it straight through. Berry jam is a must w/ this. (oh, and I also heated my oil to 400 as someone else suggested....Perfect!)
