Oh lordy, this was delicious. But let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

Melissa was kind enough to bring me a half loaf of Cream Pan bread from a bakery in Marukai, a Japanese supermarket in Torrance. This bread was magic. Giant, inch thick slices of perfectly square, sweet and slightly eggy white bread. She had told me it makes an amazing French toast, but since I rarely get the chance to cook breakfast except for on the weekends and this being a Monday and all, I opted for a monte cristo sandwich. Not familiar? Perhaps you’ve seen it on the crusty, plastic pages of the Bennigan’s menu, where they offer it up as a deep-fried, thick-battered, powdered-sugar encrusted pile on a plate. This takes the same idea but makes it much, much more healthful, and, I personally say, more delicious.

Monte Cristo Sandwich
Makes 2 tasty sandwiches

4 slices challah or Japanese white bread, medium thickness (1/2″ – 3/4″ is ideal)
2 tbsp light mayonaise
4 tsp dijon mustard
4 slices swiss cheese
1/4 lb thin sliced deli ham
1/3 lb thin sliced turkey
3 eggs
1/3 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp raspberry jam or preserves to serve with the sandwiches

Start by building your sammies. Spread a thin layer of mayonaise on all 4 slices. This is important to create a moisture barrier between the eggy outside of the sandwich and the delicious filling. Top the mayo with a shmear of dijon. Next add the cheese. It’s important to have this close to the outside so that it can melt like a grilled cheese. Next, layer on the turkey and the ham. Toss a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper and then fold into a sandwich. If you’re using a thinner slice of bread, you can go for a more classic double-decker club style sandwich with turkey on one half and ham on the other.

At this point you have the option to wrap the sandwich tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 or so minutes, but this is optional. It just helps the sandwich hold together better in the pan, especially if you’re going double-decker style. I was hungry and my bread slices were ginormous, so this didn’t happen.

Place a large skillet, or two medium skillets over medium-low heat and melt the butter in them. While its heating up, you’ve got time to whip up the egg bath. Crack the eggs into a wide low bowl and whisk it together with the milk until its very well incorporated. One at a time, place the sandwiches into the bowl, soaking both sides in the eggwash for atleast 10 seconds. Wipe off the excess and into the pan it goes!

The idea is to cook these friends low and slow, which allows the eggs to cook and the cheese to melt without the sandwich getting too dark on the outside. You’ll want to see some bubbles like this around the sandwich, otherwise the pan’s not hot enough. You might need to flip it over a few times to ensure even browning.  Oh and while you’re at it, check out my sweet new range…

When both sides are golden brown and the cheese has melted, pull your friend out of the pan, and cut into sexy triangles! If you feel so inclined, you can dust the top with powdered sugar, but I think the jam on the side offers the perfect amount of sweetness to compliment the salty cheese/lunchmeats, the spicy bite of the mustard and pepper, and tender eggy bread. Its a seriously well balanced bite, and makes for a delightful weeknight dinner. Enjoy!

If you ever find yourself in the Helms Bakery area of Culver City, do yourself and your colleagues a huge favor and stop on by Tea Forest. Not only are the staff some of the nicest people in the history of ever, this place is filled up with some serious yum.

After a long, hard day of animating I usually need a break and head on down for an Iced Green Tea. All of their iced tea selections are super tasty, and they offer some unusual teas such as Earl Grey or Mugicha. I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t tried any of their hot teas yet, cause hey, it’s summertime. But they have an expansive offering of hot teas, with 5 or more varieties each of Green, Black, Oolong, etc. on the menu. They also offer coffee, for those of you who like that sort of thing. Ooh! The Green Tea Frappe is also a thing of beauty, comparable to Coffee Bean’s Green Tea Ice Blended, and I think just a tiny bit better. And don’t overlook the boba milk tea selections. Super yum, and it tastes like they use actual brewed tea instead of the creepy powdered stuff.

As for treats, man do they have some yum sammiches. I’ve been for lunch several times, and the food is always fresh, high quality, tasty, and above all, very reasonably priced. They also offer some baked goods in the form of muffins and cookies and other diet breaking awesomes.

I really suggest this as a nice, calm place to take a break or have a lunch. They don’t mind you hanging out and doing your thing, and like I said, super nice! Beats the pants off Starbucks any day.