This Monte Cristo Casserole Is the Perfect Combination of Savory and Sweet Dishes.
Hello and welcome to Will It Casserole? , a column in which I take your delicious concepts and reintroduce them as delicious casserole creations. Today we take one of my favorite sandwiches and turn it into a cheesy, layered piece of edible ham art.
Named after the vengeful fake count – I think; I haven’t read the book – Monte Cristo is more than just a sandwich. In its simplest form, it is a ham and cheese sandwich that is dipped in egg dough and then fried. Sometimes it’s about turkey, but I don’t know why you put the turkey so that it can be filled with a lot of ham. The crunchy, flowing pork-filled treat is usually served with jam or syrup and sprinkled with powdered sugar, but you should probably use all three just in case.
Turning Monte Cristo into a casserole was an easy and delicious task. Basically, it’s a savory bread pudding with a pound of Swiss cheese. As for the bread, you can go two different paths: an Italian-style crunchy bread with a custard soak overnight, or a beautiful soft challah loaf that absorbs the custard quickly so you don’t have to wait. I chose the latter.
If you follow what is happening at home, you will need:
- 1 loaf of challah bread
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 lb. shredded Swiss cheese
- 1/2 lb. thick ham, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- Lubricating oil
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- Jam and / or syrup (choose both my friend)
Preheat oven to 350 ℉ and brush a large baking dish with butter. Tear the challah into 1-inch pieces and set aside in a large bowl. Whisk the milk and eggs to make a custard and pour over the bread. Place the ham slices in a large freezer bag along with the mustard and stir to coat. Add the ham and three quarters of the cheese stock to the custard-covered bread bowl and stir. Pour it into a baking dish and place in the oven for half an hour. As soon as you notice the cheese and bread are slightly browning, pour the remaining cheese on top and return it to the oven until a new layer of cheese is melted and browned.
Remove, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve hot.
While eating, think about how this casserole can be eaten with literally any meal, at any hour. Notice how it tastes like a donut with crispy golden edges except for the ham and cheese, and understand that the ham and cheese donut is something that has been lacking in your life all these years. Eat, share, do again.