Recently I've found myself greatly desiring sandwiches for dinner; I don't know what it is, perhaps I've just had an overwhelming hankering for bread—which I don't nearly eat as often as I used too...

Regardless of the reasoning behind my latest creation; you, my dear friends, get to enjoy the fruits of both my desires and labors—which this time have brought forth that delectable mix of sweet and savory ingredients, the "Monte Cristo"

Thought to have it's origins in a Paris cafés offering of a "Croque Monsieur"—which was gruyere cheese and lean ham between slices of crust-less bread, fried in clarified butter.

This sandwich is still a popular snack or casual meal throughout France and Switzerland in most bars and cafés. It is usually made in a special sandwich grilling iron consisting of two hinged metal plates, each with two shell-shaped indentations...

At some point though in America, in the 30's and 40's, the sandwich began to pop up in cookbooks across the country as a "French Toasted Cheese" sandwich or "Toasted Ham" sandwich—shortly followed by it's appearances all across southern California and finally Disneyland in the 60's...

During this deliciously desirable sandwiches travels from the quaint riverside cafés of Paris to the restaurants of Disney and beyond it finally achieved the form we are all familiar with today...

So, for this "Monte Cristo" I took my tried and true traditional French Toast recipe, aged gruyere cheese, fresh roasted turkey, honey baked ham and a variety of accompaniments to create this wonderfully scrumptious and incredibly satisfying merging of the very best of both sweet and savory ingredients—I think if you try it you'll find that it is, most assuredly, oh so "Definitely Delish"

"Classic Monte Cristo Sandwich"

Ingredients:
8 slices firm bread, sliced 1 inch thick (I use Challah bread)
6 large Eggs
2 tablespoons Heavy Cream
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
6 tablespoons unsalted Sweet Cream Butter
2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
2 tablespoons Dijon or Deli Mustard
2 tablespoons Mayonnaise
12 ounces Baked Ham, sliced
8 ounces roasted Turkey, sliced
8 ounces Aged Gruyère cheese, shaved
Powdered Sugar for dusting

Directions:
1. Slice your bread into 8 pieces and then put them on the top rack of your oven at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes to dry them out—you want to avoid toasting the bread beyond a light golden color...
2. Whisk together the heavy cream, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, cloves and sea salt in a medium bowl. Pour the mix into a 9x13-inch baking pan for easy dipping...
3. Allow the butter to soften at room temperature then preheat a large skillet or grill plate at medium temperature...
4. Take 2 slices at a time and place them into the egg mixture for 20 seconds, then flip them over for another 20 seconds—add a tablespoon of butter to the skillet and your dipped bread then cook until golden brown (approx. 2 minutes to each side)
5. Repeat this process with the remaining bread slices, then set the skillet aside till ready to use again...
6. Now to assemble the sandwiches. Begin by spreading softened butter on the inside of each slice of French Toast; follow that with a thin layer (2 teaspoons) of mustard on 4 slices of toast, and a layer (2 teaspoons) of mayonnaise on the remaining 4 slices...
7. Top the 4 slices with mayonnaise with an equal amount of shaved Gruyere cheese, followed by roast turkey and then the baked ham—top with the final 4 slices of French toast, pressing them together gently...
8. Set your skillet back over medium-low heat and melt 1 tablespoon of the butter...
9. Brush the tops of your Monte Cristo sandwiches with a small amount of the remaining butter and place butter side down, two at a time, for two minutes
10. While cooking brush the top of the sandwiches with butter and when ready flip them over gently, and continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes more...
11. Repeat with the final two sandwiches, slicing them in half and dusting with a small amount of powdered sugar...

Notes:
1. Serve with real maple syrup or your favorite replacement...
2. Also can be served with Homemade Strawberry preserves (or small batch, farm stand quality) on the side, for a deliciously sweet addition. (Raspberry & Red Currant are also good choices)

So recently I played around with this wonderful pastry recipe that had been floating around in my head for more than a little bit...

This of course was the "Pastelitos" or Cuban Pastries I made and posted not so long ago...

Of course, at the time, I had only done the one version (Inspired by the movie "Chef" in no small part—definitely watch it if you haven't yet); it was a sort of mini Cubanos sandwich pastry which I just loved for it's scrumptious mix of savory and sweet...

This time, though, I decided to go all out and create a veritable multitude of "Pastelitos Pastries" to bring in to work. (As well as a few for friends & family to enjoy at home)

So to get down to the details, and without any further ado, I give you my four delectable and delicious Cuban Puff Pastries....

Pastelitos de Carne, Queso, Cubanos and Nutella Queso...

Each different but equally wonderful; from the sweetened cream cheese filling off the one to the savory meaty picadillo filling off another. (Love the capers and pimento stuffed olives mixed in–Yum)

"Love the sweet outer shell of puff pastry"

Everyone ate them up lickety-split and now are constantly asking when I'm bringing in more for them. (I think it's the sugary syrup coating on top of each–I could eat that all day)

Such a wonderful, easy and enjoyable dish to make and share and oh so—
"Definitely Delish"

"Pastelitos"

Ingredients:
For Puff Pastry:
10 ounces unsalted Butter
1/2 cup cold water
1 teaspoon fine Sea Salt
2 cups all-purpose flour

For Simple Syrup:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water

For Egg Wash:
3 eggs, beaten
2 ounces water

For Filling:
Nutella
2 (8 ounce) packages Cream Cheese
1 teaspoon Lemon juice
1/4 cup white Sugar
2 tablespoons Milk
(see notes for other options)

Directions:
For Puff Pastry:
1. Cut 8 ounces (2 sticks) butter into 1/2 to 1/4-inch dice, place on a plate and refrigerate while preparing remaining ingredients.Measure water and add salt; stir to dissolve and set aside...
2. Coarsely dice remaining 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter. Place flour in work bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade; add 4 tablespoons butter and pulse until butter is absorbed -- about ten to twelve 1-second pulses...
3. Add remaining butter and pulse once or twice to distribute. Add water and pulse 3 or 4 times, just until dough forms a rough ball. Do not over-process...
4. Flour work surface and scrape dough from work bowl. Shape dough into a rough rectangle and place between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Press dough with rolling pin to flatten, then roll back and forth several times with rolling pin to make a 12 by 18 inch rectangle of dough...
5. Peel away plastic wrap and invert dough to floured work surface. Peel away second piece of wrap. Fold dough in thirds in the width, folding the top third down and the bottom third up, to make a 6 by 18-inch rectangle, then roll up the dough from one of the 6-inch ends, making sure to roll end under dough...
6. Press the dough into a square, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour, or until firm...

For Pastelitos:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit; then prepare simple syrup by mixing water and sugar in a small saucepan and bringing it to a boil, then lowering the temperature to low and simmering for 5 minutes-afterwards remove from heat and allow to cool...
2. For the Cream Cheese mixture; take two packages of cream cheese at room temperature. Then with an electric mixer, mix in two tablespoons milk and lemon juice and blend until smooth. Gradually add sugar and continue mixing until fluffy...
3. Now take the sheet of puff pastry you've constructed and cut it into shapes; circles, triangles, squares or whatever you like...
4. For cream cheese filled add a small amount of the cream cheese mixture to the center of each piece of puff pastry...
5. For the Nutella and sweetened cream cheese filled; add a small amount of nutella (best if you've pre-measured onto wax paper in heaping teaspoons and frozen in freezer), followed by a heaping tablespoon of cream cheese mixture...
6. Moisten the edges of the dough strips with a little water. Cover each filling covered piece of dough with the remaining two dough pieces. Seal the edges on all sides of the dough by pressing and smoothing gently with your hands...
7. Brush the top with an egg wash (3 eggs beaten with 2 ounces of water), then bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes -- pastry should be crisp on top and lightly browning...
8. Remove the pastries from the oven and brush with the simple syrup (recipe above). Return to oven and bake an additional five or six minutes...
9. Let cool slightly, and then enjoy...

"Definitely can not get enough of that deliciously sweet dough"

Notes:
1. You can make all sorts of other filling types for meat filled, cuban sandwich style (which I've done) and any and all sorts of other interesting ideas-be creative and have fun with it...