Vacation Food (Double Recipe Ending)

I haven't eaten much at home for the last week. I spent the weekend up in Luddington, and then my parents came into visit and we spent a lot of time eating out. After a weekend of s'mores, banana bread, Mallo Cups, hot dogs, and greasy-joint hamburgers, followed by Zingerman's Roadhouse and Blimpy Burger and Northside Grill, I probably should have prescribed myself a week of vegetables. Instead, I took advantage of a first dissertation-free weekend to experiment with Monte Cristo Sandwiches.

I first encountered a recipe for these sandwiches in an old cookbook my mom gave me (though I never made them), and then at a movie night in Virginia when a friend brought take-out Monte Cristo sandwiches and I tried my first and, until today, only. These sandwiches are not for the faint of heart. I mean that kind of literally. They consist of swiss cheese, sandwiched between ham and turkey, sandwiched between bread, then dipped in batter and deep fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with jelly for dipping. It's sort of like a sandwich donut.

Monte Cristo sandwiches came up over the weekend when a little local restaurant in Luddington cheated and served Monte Cristo sandwiches that neglected the dip-in-batter-and-deep-fry bit (although the resstaurant made up for it's culinary faux pas by serving fantastic ice cream). So today I decided to be bold and go all the way.

I never deep fry anything in my own home so I was a little worried about how they would turn out. But the experiment (if you can call following a recipe an experiment) was a wonderful success. The sandwiches, dipped in raspberry jelly, were delicious. Don't worry, I didn't eat all of them myself.


Now I need to go eat a salad. But first, I'll share the recipe. I'll also tack on the banana bread recipe I've been using lately, as per request.

Monte Cristo Sandwiches

Batter
2/3 cup water
1 egg
2/3 cup flour
1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Sandwiches
8 slices white bread
4 slices ham
4 slices turkey
4 slices Swiss cheese (I used Provolone because I like it better than Swiss)

1 tablespoon powdered sugar for dusting
raspberry jam or currant jelly for dipping

Heat oil in deep fryer or large pan. In medium bowl, make batter by whisking together egg and water. Stir together dry ingredients and add to egg mixture; mix well.

Assemble sandwiches by placing a slice of turkey on one slice of bread, a slice of ham on another, then sandwiching them with a slice of cheese in between the ham and turkey. Cut sandwiches into quarters. Dip sandwiches in batter, coating on all sides, then fry until golden brown. Dust lightly with powdered sugar and serve with jam or jelly for dipping.

Banana Bread

1/2 cup butter melted
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup (or more) chopped walnuts
1 cup mashed bananas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Mix together butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir together flour, soda, and salt, then mix in with butter mixture. Fold in sour cream, walnuts, and bananas.

Bake at 350 for about 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

NOTE: Those 10 minutes are really important - I have ruined two loaves when I got excited and took the bread out of the pan too soon. Also, this bread is even better after the first day. I keep it for up to a week in the refrigerator. It's really good toasted. It's the sour cream. And the walnuts. Yum.