Monte Cristo Skillet
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With all the goodness of a classic Monte Cristo sandwich, enjoy this easy Monte Cristo Skillet recipe to make Monte Cristo flavors easy and accessible for the whole family!
This Monte Cristo Skillet was the Grand Prize Winner of the 2006 National Cornbread Festival. It caught my eye because I recently had my very first Monte Cristo Sandwich and absolutely loved it. Southern Living sent me to Charleston to do some presentations for the Taste of Charleston Festival. Have you ever been to Charleston? Oh my goodness gracious, is that a beautiful town! With every sight and sound I became more determined to bring my family back there someday so I could experience it with them (it is hard to enjoy a trip without the folks you want to share it with beside you).
As I’ve started traveling from time to time I’ve taken a queue from my adventurous counterparts at SL and started making it a point to try something new in each place if possible. In Charleston, I had my first Monte Cristo Sandwich and it was right up my alley. I ate it in the cafe of a beautiful hotel right downtown. The flavors were a unique combination for me: Ham, cheese, battered and toasted bread drizzled with a sweet fruit preserves and sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar. It was part lunch, part breakfast, part sandwich, part dessert, and all the way good!
So when Martha White offered to guest post I got to nosing around for what recipe I thought would appeal the most to everyone and as soon as this skillet came before my eyes, my heart just settled on it.
This recipe is quick to throw together and feeds six people. I like strawberry preserves with mine but feel free to use whichever you like best.
What You’ll Need to Make the Monte Cristo Skillet:
- Martha White Cotton Country Cornbread Mix
- cooking spray
- chopped cooked turkey
- chopped cooked ham
- shredded Swiss cheese
- eggs
- milk
- mayonnaise
- honey mustard
- salt
- pepper
- currant jelly
- powdered sugar
How to Make a Monte Cristo Skillet:
Prepare the cornbread batter according to the instructions on the package.
Bake cornbread mix in a 10 1/2 inch cast-iron skillet.
The cornbread will be thin and should look like this when baked.
Remove the cornbread from the skillet, and cut it into cubes when cooled. Wipe out the skillet with paper towels and spray the skillet generously with non-stick cooking spray.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the cornbread cubes in the bottom of the cast iron pan.
Top the cornbread cubes with the turkey, ham, and Swiss cheese.
In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon mustard, salt and pepper until well blended.
Pour evenly over ingredients in skillet. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until set and lightly browned.
Melt the currant jelly by warming it slightly in the microwave. Add one tablespoon of the honey mustard and whisk until blended.
Remove the Monte Cristo Skillet from the oven.
Cut it into wedges…
…sprinkle with powdered sugar…
…and serve with the currant jelly/honey mustard mixture! ENJOY this delicious cast-iron-skillet recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 6 oz. package Martha White® Cotton CountryTM Cornbread Mix
- Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
- 1-1/2 cups chopped cooked turkey
- 1/2 cup chopped cooked ham
- 1-1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons honey mustard divided
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup Smucker's® Currant Jelly
- Powdered sugar
Instructions
- PREPARE cornbread mix according to package directions, except bake in a 10 1/2-inch cast iron skillet (cornbread will be thin). Remove cornbread from skillet; cool and cut into cubes. Wipe out skillet with paper towels; spray generously with no-stick cooking spray.
- HEAT oven to 350°F. Place cornbread cubes in skillet. Top with turkey, ham and cheese. In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon mustard, salt and pepper until well blended. Pour evenly over ingredients in skillet. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until set and lightly browned.
- MELT currant jelly by warming slightly. Add 1 tablespoon honey mustard; whisk to blend.
- REMOVE skillet from oven. Cut in wedges, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with currant jelly and mustard sauce.
For those of you who want a cast iron skillet, but you don’t want to mess with seasoning it. You might check out the ones they sell at Cracker Barrel because some of them are already seasoned for you. I have one that was pre-seasoned, and I have enjoyed using it.
I have a small, a medium, and large cast iron skillet as well as a corn stick pan. When I decided a year ago to invest in an induction cooktop, I was thrilled that I could use my cast iron on it or I think that would have been a deal breaker! I have fond memories of my dear Aunt Macel cooking her famous peach cobbler in her cast iron skillet (as I do now) and of my Mother making peanut brittle in hers (also as I do now.) I absolutely will not make cornbread in any other pan!
My parents are from the north. We moved to Huntsville when I was in 5th grade. I’ve been in the south now for many, many years. I never really knew about cast iron until reading your blog and purchasing your cook book. I now have 6 cast iron skillets that I purchased from several antique malls and online. I followed the directions from a guest post on your website on how to season or re-season. This past weekend was my Birthday, which I spent with 2 girlfriends that came to visit from out of town (we stayed at a hotel) When I arrived home on Sat. afternoon, my husband made dinner which included corn bread made in one of the skillets…..it came out perfect. He is such a blessing to me and the cornbread was amazing!! 🙂 Christy, thank you so much for bringing “the south” to so many of us. You are a blessing to so many.
It seems we always have had a cast iron skillet. My mom and dad used one all the time. We still use cast iron skillets today. We have 3 of them. I love cooking in them. They are timeless and last forever! I just recently made glazed carrots in mine. I even cooked the carrots in the skillet. Mine were given to me by my mom and father-in-law. My children enjoy using them as well. It is our “pan of choice”.
Am another southern girl who grew up eating food cooked in cast iron cookware. Ihave spent most of my life in a small town across the state line from South Pittsburg , TN had family that worked in the Lodge factory there. When I turned 16 a uncle started giving me pieces of Lodge Cast Iron as presents. I started housekeeping with them 39 years ago and still use them. Uncle slao saw to it that my girls had Lodge Cast Iron to start their cookware collections. Our whole family loves it and doesn’t believinh in using any other Cast Iron; Lodge is the BEST. Look forward to seeing you at the Cornbread Festival.
Christy,
My mother straight from Germany used her big cast-iron frying pan for everything! In it she always made the best roast whole chickens I have ever eaten, turkeys, fabulous pot roasts, “farmer’s breakfasts” as she called them (chopped bacon, fried potatoes, chives and eggs, all scrambled together with a bit of garlic powder and Lawry’s seasoned salt) and almost everything else she cooked inside an oven or on the stove top. When my mom died a few years ago at age 80, I had to have that cast iron pan. For me it symbolizes a lifetime of wonderful food and wonderful times at my mom’s table. I am with everybody else in wanting a “assume nothing” guide to seasoning and cooking with cast iron!
My mouth is watering just reading about all thie good food which has been cooked in the cast iron skillets over the years. I have a large skillet and a small one. We will have been married 55 years in June and I’ve been using both skillets all these years. They are all I use when I bake cornbread. YUM! Thanks for sharing the recipe today. I’m anxious to try it.