We're big fans of Binging With Babish here at The Devilish Dish. His videos are informative and entertaining and hilarious at the same time. He's also a big supporter of the restaurant industry and so are we! My brother-in-law just took a chef gig at a restaurant in New Orleans. But of course sadly, he along with so many others in the industry aren't working right now. In his latest Binging with Babish video, Andrew Rea (aka Oliver Babish) along with other chefs, encourages viewers to support their local restaurants by ordering take out and to show support: create a recipe using the hashtag #LeftoversChallenge. We had just enjoyed an Easter Feast from our favorite local Italian restaurant, Benvenuti's. We had ham, scalloped potatoes, carrots, snap peas, salad, Italian mac and cheese, carrot cake and lots of homemade rolls with butter. By the time the family feasted for a couple of days all we really had leftover was ham and rolls and after watching the #LeftoversChallenge Episode, my quarantine creative wheels started turning. Leftover ham and rolls have lots of potential. Ham sandwiches, Ham Salad sandwiches, Ham and cheese sandwiches. Never one to go with the obvious I thought about a variation on Eggs Benedict. Which got me thinking about my Benedict Strata breakfast casserole. Which then got me thinking about Monte Cristo Sandwiches, and I decided I would blend the two ideas and Monte Cristo Bread Pudding was born. We had everything on hand for a traditional Monte Cristo Sandwich (which consists of ham, turkey, Swiss cheese and Dijon mustard, on bread, then dipped and griddled in a slightly sweet French Toast-like batter and served with powdered sugar and jam for dipping.) We were lacking the turkey and Swiss cheese so I improvised with A LOT of ham, and a combination of grated Cheddar, Mozzarella and a little Gruyere. Hey it's quarantine, get creative with what you have! I also tried to be fancy ala Babish and make mine in large souffle-style dishes. In hindsight I should have baked it in a shallow baking dish or smaller ramekins to allow the bread cubes to get extra toasty, but I was going for a fancy presentation. It actually turned out quite lovely, and we had a brand new jar of raspberry jam in our pantry that we warmed up to pour on top. A terrific brunch treat. I encourage you to support your local restaurants during this time. Grab some carry out and cocktails and if you happen to have leftovers, get creative and share your ideas in the comments! #LeftoversChallenge.
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| We took the Binging with Babish #LeftoversChallenge! Monte Cristo Bread Pudding |
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| Everything you need for a Monte Cristo (with a little quarantine creativity) Ham and Rolls from Benvenuti's. |
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| We didn't have turkey or the traditional Swiss cheese on hand so we used our quarantine creativity. Cheddar, mozzarella and a little Gruyere. |
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| It's not a Monte Cristo without Dijon mustard, and a little sweetness from vanilla and raspberry jam. |
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| Combine the custard mixture, cubed leftover rolls, chopped leftover ham and cheeses. Allow to rest on the counter for 15-20 minutes before baking. |
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| Garnish with powdered sugar and serve with warmed raspberry jam. Just like a traditional Monte Cristo Sandwich. |
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| Bake until the mixture is puffed, the custard has set and you have a lovely golden brown top. |
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| Monte Cristo Bread Pudding Quarantine Creativity #LeftoversChallenge |
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| Serve with warmed raspberry jam. Support your local restaurants! (Tip Generously) |
MONTE CRISTO BREAD PUDDING
#LeftoversChallenge Binging With Babish
12 leftover Easter dinner rolls (or one loaf French bread) cubed
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup half-n-half
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard (we love Maille)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 cups chopped leftover Easter ham (or 1 cup chopped ham and 1 cup chopped turkey)
1 cup grated Swiss cheese (or make do with what you have on hand, I used a combination of Cheddar, Mozzarella and Gruyere)
powdered sugar for garnish
Raspberry jam
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large, shallow baking dish or several individual ramekins and set aside. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl and set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, half-n-half, vanilla, Dijon mustard and salt. Pour over bread cubes, and add chopped meats and cheeses. Stir together and allow to rest on the counter 15-20 minutes.
Spoon mixture into prepared ramekins or pour into prepared baking dish and bake 30-45 minutes or until the mixture has puffed, the custard is set and the top is a light golden brown.
Generously dust with powdered sugar and serve with warmed raspberry jam spooned on top.
Prep Time: Approximately 30 minutes Cook Time: Approximately 45 minutes
This sounds so good! I can’t wait to try it!! Monte Cristo‘s are my favorite sandwich (that and leftover Thanksgiving Turkey sandwiches using leftover rolls!!), I think Bennigan’s had the very best Monte Cristo’s ever, but of course, they closed down, no more Bennigans! Unfortunately it’s been that way for many years now!
ReplyDeleteI make my own rendition that’s really incredibly wonderful (not to sound vain AT ALL, I just LOVE them and I’ve spent YEARS trying to perfect them. They’re a favorite meal of mine for sure!). However, it is quite messy and it’s not the easiest thing to do. I put the sandwich together using 3 slices of bread, Ham & Cheddar between 2 slices, Turkey and whatever between the other two, Swiss isn’t my ABSOLUTE favorite, so I use Havarti or Muenster most of the time, sometimes just whatever I have, there’s usually no shortage of cheese at our house, we LOVE THE CHEESE!! I’m also not super fond of deli meat turkey, I LOVE the leftover traditional “Thanksgiving Turkey” though, so I use that if I have it and if I can’t find anything appealing at the deli I will just use Ham on both sides (I LOVE ME SOME HAM!! lol)!
Finally, I make a pancake batter using a package of the super simple, “just add water and maybe egg batter mix”, I add a bit of Vanilla to that and if I’m feeling super naughty I will sometimes even add a little sugar (SOOO NOT NECESSARY though!). I make it SUPER THICK (I don’t follow the package directions at all), then I dip the whole entire sandwich into the amazing batter and deep fry it until golden brown! If I don’t have oil already available from making something else, Sopapillas or the like, then sometimes I will use just enough shortening to come up 1/2 way on the sandwich and I’ll flip it halfway through. It’s easier to use a deep fryer with a basket, although it does stick to the basket sometimes, that piece of bread that touches the bottom of the basket first, I’m not sure how to fix that issue? They’re always amazing, the basket just makes it easier since you don’t have to try and turn the sandwich over, praying it stays together during the FLIP!! They can also be somewhat greasy if the oil/shortening isn’t hot enough when starting. I feel that shortening does work BETTER than Vegetable Oil, plus the clean up later is easier!
If I’m not using a fryer basket I normally use some toothpicks, placing them through the layers in a diagonal manner, that really helps keep them together, you just have to remember HOW MANY toothpicks you placed in your sandwich and take them ALL OUT, you do NOT want to bite into one of those suckers!! Seriously, not at all fun to find them while enjoying your delicious Monte Cristo!
OH, one last thing, I typically cut the sandwich in half on the diagonal before dipping it, that makes it much easier AND you have more yummy, crunchy batter on the outside!