The Monte Cristo

BATTER

· 2/3 cup Milk or Buttermilk

· 1 small egg

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 1/8 teaspoon white pepper

· 2/3 cup flour (I used buttermilk pancake mix i made... tastes so much better than plain flour)

· 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder (if you use flour.. make pancake mix and you don't need this)

SANDWICHES (Side note, this is the usual meat/cheese filling for the sandwich but that doesn't mean you can't use any meat/cheese combo you prefer!)

· 8 slices white bread

· 4 slices roasted cooked turkey (1 ounce each sandwich)

· 4 slices tillamook swiss cheese (1 ounce each sandwich)

· 4 slices smoked ham (1 ounce each sandwich)

· vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

BATTER: Place Milk/buttermilk, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl and using an electric mixer, mix well at low speed. Add flour and baking powder (or pancake mix!) and mix until batter is smooth. Chill.

Side Note: At this point I mix 1 extra egg with some milk and lightly dip the sandwich bread in it, just to coat very little and pan fry to give the bread a little more flavor. It's not necessary but sure as hell tastes better. It's kind of like making french toast but not! Be careful not to let the bread sit in the egg/milk mixture too long because it gets soggy and wont be good after deep frying.

SANDWICHES: Make 4 sandwiches, putting cheese between ham and turkey. Cut into fourths and put a toothpick through each quarter.

Heat about 6" of oil to 340 degrees in a fryer. Dip sandwiches in batter to cover all surfaces. Deep fry sandwiches until golden brown, turning as needed. An alternate way of frying it to put approximately 1/4" oil in a large pan and fry the sandwiches on both sides until crispy and brown.

Remove from oil and take out toothpicks. Drain on paper towel to remove excess oil.