Homemade: Monty Toast-o sandwich

The fun part about cooking for yourself and eating at home is that you get a chance to be creative, and try to simplify the dishes you love at restaurants. When you succeed, you save yourself money, time, and even hassle if you have kids.

I, for one, am a HUGE fan of the Monte Cristo sandwich. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Monte Cristo, it's a sandwich containing cheese, usually two kinds, either cheddar and swiss or cheddar and american, turkey, and ham, and then the whole sandwich is battered and deep fried. 

While I've actually made the real Monte Cristo at home before, it was a HUGE mess between the frying and the battering, not to mention decadently calorific. So I came up with something that would satisfy much the same cravings that is a lot cleaner and simpler.

First, I took 4 Hawaiian rolls, sliced them in half...

...And put turkey and cheddar on them. I didn't happen to have ham, but if you desire to get as close as possible to the real thing, you'll need that.

Then I warmed them in my toaster and sliced them into 4. I ended up adding about 15 seconds in the microwave to get the cheese totally melted without over-toasting the bread. I ate them with raspberry preserves...

But when I tried it again the next day, I actually spread mixed berry cream cheese onto the bread before warming the sandwich. It was EXCELLENT and I highly recommend the addition. Even with the cream cheese this is significantly more virtuous than a deep fried, battered sandwich (not that there's anything wrong with indulging every now and then).

This simple sandwich was additionally inspired by an easy meal my mom serves, where she takes a whole Hawaiian bread loaf, slices it cross-wise into 3 sections, and layers pepperjack cheese and turkey on the bottom section, inside the pan it comes in, then places the middle bread section on top, then layers cheddar and ham on top of the middle section, then sandwiches the top onto it, wraps it in foil and warms it in the oven. Just slice it like a pie and serve! It's a super hearty, warm, salty-sweet sandwich.

This is excellent with a little mustard or even raspberry jam (NOT both), and if you don't like spicy, you can totally use swiss cheese, or even mozzerella, instead of pepperjack. 

Tom + Chee

Visit Tom + Chee website                                                                 Richardson location

                                                                                                          Fort Worth location

Last week I visited a friend of mine who just moved to Fort Worth, and she took me to a place that I found myself simultaneously adding to and checking off of my gastronomic bucket list.

Tom + Chee is a haven of all things hot and cheesy. The menu is comprised of every twist, enhancement, or accompaniment one could possibly imagine for a grilled cheese sandwich. You can get a "fancy" grilled cheese, each of which is an expertly conceptualized enhancement on the already difficult to beat classic grilled cheese sandwich. The challenge I expect in a restaurant with such a name and menu would be to successfully feature the cheese in the starring role, even in a BBQ Beef Texas sandwich, which could easily cross a line from a grilled cheese sandwich to a barbecue sandwich with cheese on it. Still these sandwiches are carefully composed to enhance, highlight, and star the cheese.

I sadly did not have the means nor fortitude to attempt to sample something from every section of the menu, but I managed to get a decent cross section, ordering the grilled Mac & Chee with a side of pesto, a "Soup Dipper" of their tomato basil soup for $1 (How brilliant to offer a small side serving of soup for dipping one's grilled cheese! This completely charmed me and earned Tom + Chee so many brownie points for fully understanding the appeal of a good grilled cheese sandwich.)

The Grilled Mac & Chee was every bit as starchy and decadent as you would imagine, and I was impressed with their mastery of temperature, as the abundant contents of the sandwich were piping hot and both completely melted and incorporated, yet the toast was a perfect golden color and crisp texture without being overdone or dry.

The pesto was a classic and super fresh basil pesto, delicious with the noodley contents of the Mac & Chee sandwich. The tomato basil soup was tangy and not overladen with basil or salt the way so many of those soups can be, and just textured enough to convince me of its freshness without an abundance of slimy chunks of cooked tomato.

Now for the best part- dessert. My friend ordered the "Blueberry Blue" grilled cheese donut, and kindly traded me a bite. It features a creamy lemon mascarpone, melted blue cheese, blueberry compote inside a toasted inverted donut. I was surprised when I tasted this because I was anticipating an almost cloyingly sweet bite between the glazed donut and the sweet fillings, but between the tart lemon in the mascarpone and the salty blue cheese, it was a pleasant balance that made it easy to want to go back for more. My friend, who ate much more of it than me, said she actually almost found it too savory with the blue cheese.

I, being an avid s'more connoisseur, could not pass up the offer of a s'more grilled cheese donut. This was significantly sweeter than the Blueberry Blue, but again the use of real cheese in the filling balanced the sugar, making each bite rich, creamy, and just pleasantly sweet. I was surprised how easy this was to eat, especially after such a rich lunch, but again somehow Tom + Chee achieved a perfect equilibrium of texture and flavor, and I didn't even feel uncomfortably weighed down from the dessert. 

I'll only linger a few more sentences on Tom + Chee to acknowledge their decor. The thematic branding both remind customers of tomatoes and cheese and don't kill the joke by going too far. There is a challenge on the wall for those with iron wills and stomachs to match:

...And for the parents out there, they provide a large stack of coloring books and a basket of crayons. I know my sisters will be thrilled to patronize a place that thinks of kiddos who want entertainment while their parents talk.

Over all, Tom + Chee succeeded at their own challenge. It was truly a fun experience, and I can't wait to go back. If you don't live near Fort Worth, worry not- while it's worth the drive, there is also a location in Richardson.