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.
Isn’t it funny how even the tiniest iron skillet can hold soooo many memories. When I was first married, was looking forward to getting my newly acquired iron skillets seasoned to perfection. My sister put one of them in the dishwasher ! I almost cried, but scrubbed off the rust and taught her how to season it ! Still have it ! When my kids were quite young, we had an ice storm and no power for three days. We had a huge fireplace to keep us warm and cook in. I put a beef roast in my iron skillet, covered with foil and cooked it in the fireplace. That was uncoubtedly the best roast I’ve ever had ! Cornbread and pineapple upside down cake MUST be cooked in an iron skillet. I probably have one of just about every size ! Happy memories everybody !
my grandmama pitts (who was from alabama) always made pineapple upside down cake in the iron skillet! now i do the same! it’s the best way!
Hey Christy, not sure what is wrong, but when I click the Cornbread Festival link, I go to the site for the Chai Tea. hmmm….
I have over 200 pieces of cast iron cookware and my favorite it is the cake molds. I remember making the cakes for Easter and Christmas with my mom.
Ok, I’m hanging my head in shame (and regret) right now. I have a couple of cast iron skillets that I tried using years ago. I never got the hang of how to take care of them and (please don’t shoot me) I finally put them away thinking they were just too much trouble. I have wanted to pull them out and use them over the years but they really kind of intimidate me.
Christy, I would love it if you would post a tutorial on how to care for these wonderful tools. If you do that, I promise to try again.
I have a few cast iron pans that were my grandfathers’. I remember he would cook liver and onions in the cast iron and pancakes on the griddle on the side. He thought by cooking pancakes too you would more than likely eat the liver and onions.
BTW Monte Cristo is one of my favorite sandwiches. I remember eating it at the mall in Joplin, MO, can’t think of the restaurant but they always gave you a side of honey to dip it in. YUM!!!
South Pittsburg is in Tennessee