Almost Monte Cristo

Several months ago, a huge jar of sauerkraut landed in my shopping basket as I dreamed of the delightful grilled sandwiches overflowing with thin slices of corned beef and sauerkraut that I have sampled from Jewish delicatessens from time to time. The last time I had one was in a restaurant in Bisbee, but it was at least 15 years ago. Let’s see . . . is that a Croque-Monsieur or a Monte Cristo?

https://g.co/kgs/IADRmA

Last week, I snagged a pound of corned beef from the deli and made my own thin slices. I had just roasted a huge turkey breast, so there was some of that available, along with the perennial favorite – Emmentaler Swiss cheese. You can see the sauerkraut in the bowl to the left waiting for a chance to cover my little morsels. I ended up not using the jalapeño dressing, but did make good use of the Dijon.

So it really wasn’t a Monte Cristo – more closely related to the croque-monsieur. So the next day, I repeated the above and made a thin batter according to a net recipe and did it right. Can’t say that it was any tastier than what you see above. I didn’t bother to take a picture of it because mostly it just looked like a fat pancake with no personality whatsoever. In fact, I used the leftover batter to make a little pancake that we ate for a snack later on in the day. It was sort of a cross between a crêpe and a pancake. Good for a snack because it was handy, but I wouldn’t go to any trouble to actually produce it again. What you see above, covered in the veggies (cukes, tomatoes, and red peppers) in the surrounding little bowls was much more pleasant to eat.

I think just grilling it like a glorified grilled cheese sandwich might combine the best of both worlds with a minimum of fuss and clean up.

Anyone know of a place where these are served? And are they super delicious?