EoMEoTE#7 – The Limerick Edition

It’s End of Month Eggs on Toast,
Created by Jeanne, the talented host
This month a limerick
Will do the trick
To explain your entry and culinary post

What came to mind was a Monte Cristo
But with a twist, ala the Fool’s Bistro
Bread, eggs, chicken and cheese
Add something savory, to please –
Stack ‘em up on the grill, then eat the little feast-o.

Don’t worry!  I really don’t plan on subjecting you to my (extremely) limited poetry skills any more than necessary!  But today it was necessary… Several month’s ago Jeanne at Cook Sister! started another food blogging event titled, “End of Month Eggs on Toast Extravaganza” or, as it is affectionately known, EoMEoTE.

I stumbled across this event two or three months ago but haven’t been coordinated enough to participate.  It seemed this holiday weekend (in the US) was a good time to get involved.  “But why the limerick?”, you ask.  Well, that’s the rule for this month – not just an entry involving eggs and toast (or a starchy carbohydrate of some kind) but a limerick to boot!

As my little rhyme indicates I had been thinking something along the lines of but not exactly a Monte Cristo sandwich.  I love Monte Cristos but I didn’t want to do all the crust trimming and wrapping and chilling that makes a good one.  Plus, I wanted to be able to use some of the things I had in the fridge – many from Saturday’s trip to the Farmers’ Market.  So I came up with a plan that is actually more like eggs in toast but I think it will still qualify! :-)

The Fool’s Monte Cristo

1 egg
1 – 2 Tbsp milk
Freshly grated nutmeg

Break egg into shallow bowl, just wide enough to lay a piece of bread completely flat.  Lightly beat the egg, then add the milk and grate a little nutmeg into the mixture.  Mix.  Set aside.

8 thin slices of day-old coarse white bread (I used a small loaf, each sandwich is only about 6 bites)
Thinly sliced Rosemary Romao Cheese
Thinly sliced Swiss Cheese
Thinly sliced Provolone Cheese
Thinly sliced grilled chicken (I marinated mine in Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce and then grilled it on the BBQ)
Thick sliced bacon, fried until crispy and cut in half
1 “Green” red onion, thinly sliced (Any young or green onion will do)
1 grilled, seeded and peeled banana pepper, thinly sliced into 1/2 rounds
Lemon basil leaves

1 tsp. butter

Several small sprigs of fresh rosemary
Additional Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce or raspberry jam.

Assemble all ingredients listed above.  You should have enough to make one single layer of each ingredient on each of the four sandwiches.  Feel free to use just one type of cheese for all three layers, or substitute turkey for the chicken, another herb for the basil – really just pull together whatever sounds good to you.  The one key is to ensure you have cheese between each layer of “other” ingredients so that the filling will get all melted together and won’t fall apart.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles when dropped into the pan.  Melt just enough butter to lightly grease the pan.

Dip each piece of bread into the egg mixture.  Turn it over and dip again – you want to make sure that the egg slightly soaks the bread.  Place in the pan and repeat with all remaining slices.

When the bread has browned turn over 4 of the pieces.  Quickly assemble your sandwich on the browned side of the pieces.  Put a layer of the Rosemary Romao, followed by the chicken and lemon basil, followed by the Provolone, followed by some onion, pepper and a slice of bacon, then finish off with a slice of the Swiss cheese.  Next, turn the remaining 4 slices of bread onto the top of the stack with the browned side of the bread on the cheese. The uncooked side will be facing out.

If desired, place a piece of foil over the sandwiches and place a heavy object to weigh them down, such as a cast iron frying pan, on top of the foil.  (Or just use a panini pan.) When the bread has browned on the bottom, remove the pan and foil and very carefully flip the sandwiches over.  This is when they are most vulnerable as the cheese will not be fully melted so they won’t completely stick together.  Put the foil and weight back on the sandwiches, until the bottom side has browned.

Remove from pan, place on plates.  Garnish plates with a fresh rosemary sprig or two and a bit of jam or sauce.  Serve additional jam or sauce on the side.  I placed a frilled toothpick in each sandwich but it’s really not necessary, unless your cheese to other ingredient ratio is too low.

Now eat ’em up!