Serves: 2
Cost: ~€2.40
Preparation and cooking time: ~25 minutes, not including the bread itself
Calories: ~610 per sandwich
Greetings and salutations everyone, I’m a couple of days late, but today I’m going to be celebrating two years of blogging. I don’t think I have ever enjoyed one single hobby quite as much as being part of this wonderful community. It combines two of my most beloved activities – food and photography – it’s the perfect creative outlet. I could wax lyrical about grand plans for my little blog, but I’ll suffice to say that I don’t want to change anything. I’m enjoying it too much as it is. I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing, but looking back at my earliest posts, to my most recent ones, I think I can safely say that, with luck, my food styling and photography will continue to improve over time, as well as my YouTube videos which are slowly getting better. I want to thank all my visitors – I never would have thought, two years ago, that I would have come to know so many fantastic people. Friendly, talented, knowledgeable and inspiring people who make this activity as fun as it is. Without you all – well, it would just be me posting rubbish photos on a website which has about one visitor a day (that one visitor being me of course). I have learned so much and couldn’t imagine being without my blog and friends here. Thank you all!
Before I move on, just a quick reminder once more – don’t forget to sign up for my Secret Santa gift exchange if you’d like to take part! Full details can be found on the dedicated page here.
Anyway – on to today’s recipe, and this one’s a lot of fun. You may remember my post from a couple of weeks ago where I invited you to submit a list of ingredients. I would randomly select one submission and make a dish out of it, and I’d even name if after you. Well – I got some great submissions… some slightly bizarre submissions too, but nothing too outlandish. In fact, some of the ingredients sounded so darn good that I’m actually going to try them later anyway just for fun. Thank you all for taking part! I’ve randomly selected a submission and the winner is… (can I get a drum roll?)…
Kristy from Eat, Play, Love
Her suggested ingredients were as follows:
- Pumpkin
- Sage
- Sausage
- Shallots
- Pecan Nuts
Right off the bat I knew that this was going… ahem… “interesting”. I’m not the world’s biggest fan of pumpkin, and actually, all of the ingredients are not things I use regularly. So I thought, and I thought, and then it hit me. Well, actually the name hit me before the dish actually did. so, Kristy, without further ado – I present to you “your dish”:
The Monte Kristy Sandwich
As soon as the name came to me I started having some vague ideas, but how, oh how could I fit in that damn pumpkin? Then I thought – why not make it into a bread? It was a bit hit and miss – I wasn’t sure how the bread would turn out. I decided to basically grab my usual bread recipe, make a few adjustments and substitute all the water for pumpkin purée. It turned out so successfully that I’m actually going to post the bread itself on its own in my next post. I put sage into the bread, but also added some to the sausage, along with the chopped pecans before frying. Shallots were fried up in delicious sausage fat to provide a delectable topping, and then I cheated a little by adding a bit of cheese.
I actually had no idea what a Monte Cristo sandwich was, and while many ingredients in my version are significantly different I wanted to keep some core concepts so I read up a little about it. Apparently the bread is fried in a mixture of egg and milk so I decided to reproduce this aspect of it at least (I fried the bread separately, rather than dunking the whole sandwich in egg and milk, as it seems some recipes do though), and the final result? Awesome! I’m actually very pleased with how it turned out, so I hope Kristy, or anyone else for that matter, will give it a try!
Enjoy the recipe and have a great weekend everyone. I’m off to see Skyfall tonight before settling in for a nice weekend of doing not very much at all! 🙂
Monte Kristy Sandwich
(Kind of like a Monte Cristo sandwich… but not)
Ingredients
- 200g Sausage meat
- 4 thick slices of Pumpkin Bread (recipe in next post)
- 80g Cheddar Cheese, sliced
- 30g Pecan Nuts
- 8 Shallots
- 4tbsps Sunflower or Peanut Oil
- Small handful of fresh Sage
- 1 Egg
- 1 glass of Milk
Instructions
- Start off by taking 3 or 4 of the shallots. Peel and then chop finely them and add into a bowl with the sausage meat. Chop the fresh sage and pecan nuts and add in as well. Mix well to combine the meat with the nuts, onion and sage and then divide into two pieces. Using your hands, flatten the pieces into a large, thin patty – roughly the same size as the slices of bread. Heat a large frying pan and place the sausage patties into the pan. Fry them well for about 4 – 5 minutes on each side, depending on their thickness, until well done.
- While the sausage patties are frying, peel and chop the remaining shallots and then, when the patties are done, set them aside and fry the onions in the sausage fat left in the pan. Once the onions have softened, transfer to a bowl or plate while you prepare the rest of the dish.
- Whisk together the milk and egg and then heat half the oil in a large pan. Dip two of the slices of bread in the egg and milk mix, so each side is well coated, and then place the bread into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown on each side before repeating the process with the remaining oil and bread. When you flip the last slices of bread over, arrange the cheese on top while the bread is still in the pan, to allow it to melt.
- Place the bread with cheese on it onto a plate and place the sausage patty on top. Sprinkle the fried onions on top of the sausage and then top with the final slice of bread and enjoy your sandwich!
Congratulations and Happy Anniversary, Charles! All my best wishes for the future of your blog which seems extremely bright! You have been a constant inspiration throughout these two years, bringing us joy with your witty and hilarious texts. Your professional videos, your dishes coming from all around the world and the beautiful photographs from your French escapades make your blog simply unique. You have taught me more than I could imagine about the Swedish pastry, not to mention the thousand ways to prepare beetroot 😉 In short, don’t you even think of abandoning us! I hope I will celebrate with you many future anniversaries.
I am in awe seeing what you have done with all these ingredients. It looks elegant and very appetising and the name is… exactly what I have just said above: hilarious and witty. I am looking forward to see the pumpkin bread recipe because I know that, like me, you are not a huge fan of pumpkin, so this one must be exceptional. Happy Anniversary once more!
Thank you for your kind words Sissi! More than you could imagine about the Swedish pastry? Haha, well, I’m not done with it yet… there’s so many more!
Thank you as well for your encouragement, tips and advice which I value a great deal! It’s a pleasure to know you! Sometimes I still can’t believe I’ve been on this blog for 2 years… how things have changed during the last 730 days!
I’m so pleased with the bread, and to be honest, I’m going to start trying other vegetables in bread to experiment. I’m thinking perhaps even cauliflower?!
Thank you, Charles for the kind words. I’m also very happy to know you, I only wish we met sometimes… Maybe it should be one of my resolutions for New Year?
Cauliflower bread sounds awesome!
Otherwise, I wanted to thank you for the celery in salad idea. I have just made a “bento” with celery, mayonnaise, cucumber and roast leftovers and it was excellent! I think I’m getting used to the anise aroma and slowly find ideas for the celery… I think it will be a light, crunchy alternative to the cucumber! Thanks a lot! (By the way my celery had very thin, i.e. rather young stalks, so I didn’t even have to peel off the “threads”.).
Ha, the threads are my favourite… When I’m eating celery raw, first I turn the thread side to face me, I take a small bite and then pull down. It pulls a load of the threads with it and then you can eat those (sometimes they’re really tough, but usually it’s ok). After all the threads are removed, I turn the stalk around and eat it normally – so yummy!
By the way, celery, cubed apple, sliced orange and walnuts makes a good salad, especially with that Chestnuts Ury dish I posted. It’s peculiar but a good flavour!
Congratulations and happy anniversary! And well done too on a great recipe with some very random ingredients 🙂
Thank you so much Chica 🙂
Happy Anniversary Charles. It’s absolutely a pleasure to read your blog and to have met you in person. Our community is indeed such a special one.
What a great inspiration for a recipe and I am very glad that Kristy won your contest; she sure made an excellent sandwich (and the name makes it perfect)! Even though its not the healthiest, I would have a bite or two, in the least! Pumpkin is not one of my favourite ingredients either but I’m intrigued by your bread as it looks like a yeast bread and not a quick bread (which tends to be cakey). I look forward to the recipe. And again, Happy Anniversary, I hope you do something delicious to celebrate this momentous occasion..
Hi Eva – thank you so much, and I could not agree more… it was so lovely to meet in person! Something I never would have thought would happen this time two years ago!
It was indeed a yeast bread that I made. I looked around on the web for inspiration and soon realised that every pumpkin “bread” recipe was actually just a quick, super sweet, spiced baking powder loaf… not really suitable for my needs, so I decided to cobble something together myself and it was insanely good!
Congratulations husband! <3 What wife wouldn't approve of a hobby which means she gets to taste new and tasty dishes every week? Oh, and the bread in this recipe is awesome. Now I just want to know if there's any way I can count it as a serving of vegetables… 😉
Thank you for enduring cold food many times my dear, while I’m busy photographing the freshly cooked dish! <3 🙂
A huge congrats Charles on a great two years. Well done! It’s always a pleasure to visit your blog. That was very brave of you to ask for a selection of ingredients and what you did with Kristy’s looks very yummy and tasty. Well done! xx
Thanks Charlie – it was lots of fun, and I actually ended up with something pretty darn tasty looking, as well as this bread which was just wonderful! Thank you for your visits – it’s so nice to know you 🙂
Indeed congrats on 2 year milestone! This ingredients challenge seems like a lot of fun and I must say, I am impressed with how you put it all together. Especially with the pumpkin bread. It looks delicious and unusual. Great job!
Thank you Anneli – it was so much fun, and I was so pleased with the bread! I’m actually going to start experimenting with other veg… broccoli or cauliflower maybe?! 😀
Congratulations on your two year anniversary, Charles! You have such a wonderful blog and that is a great achievement…as is making such a creative and delicious sounding dish from Kristy’s ingredients. Well done, indeed! At first I thought you’d made a pumpkin french toast when I saw the picture, but pumpkin bread topped with the sausage, sage, nuts and shallots really sounds so good as well as inspirational, because now I want to make something with those ingredients! 🙂
Thank you Betsy – I never stuck to a hobby for so long before, haha – it’s a testament to just how fun it is, and the wonderful community that makes it so enjoyable! 🙂 I hope you have a chance to try the sandwich some time… it was really tasty!
How clever of you to use the pumpkin in your bread, Charles. The sandwich looks yummy. Congratulations on two years of blogging.
Thank you Sharyn – the bread was definitely a big surprise… I hadn’t anticipated it would be so gorgeous!
Congratulations on the 2 year blog anniversary, Charles. You picked a great way to celebrate it with this sandwich.
I made the Monte Cristo back when I was trying to think of ways to use up my turkey breast and, like you, ended up making the french toast first rather than egging and frying the whole sandwich. I don’t know how the restaurants manage not to have a soggy inside when they do that. 🙂
Pumpkin bread … sounds like a winner as well.
Thanks A_ – I’m wondering if they use a whole heap of hot oil to fry the sandwich in restaurants (so, almost deep-frying it) because if the whole lot was dipped I couldn’t understand either how they’d be able to “de-soggify” it. As it was, like this – it was crisp in all the right places, juicy in others and all around a good eat :).
Congratulations and Happy Anniversary Charles! Your blog is just nice and it’s always a pleasure to read your posts.
I’m not fan of pumpking either especially the orange and butternut one..However I discovered other varieties in Germany. I don’t dare buying them yet but perhaps you can tell me if the one on the right or your picture tastes the same like the orange version or not.
A friend of mine told me I can buy “patissons” because they just taste like artichoke. Is that true? Any idea?
Thank you Nada – you know, I tried a patisson (in English they can also be called “pattypan”) last year but I’m sorry – I can’t remember at all what the taste was like. I know it wasn’t “bad” though. I will cut the white one soon so I will let you know.
I had to check the names of the squashes, because the one on the left is called (in French) a “patidou”… no idea what it’s called in English, but the sign in the store said that it “tastes like marzipan and is commonly used in the preparation of desserts”, so that’s going to be really interesting to use 😀
Happy Happy Bloganniversay! I am speaking for all when I say that you are a gem and that we would be missing something in our online foodie world if you wouldn’t have come up with your blog. I know you since this year Charles but I am happy that I finally discovered your work here. Just awesome!
lol I had a feeling that the name would pop up in your mind before the recipe was finalized. ^.^ Yummy Monte Kristy sandwich and what an honor for our Kristy! =)
Thank you Helene – it’s so nice to have met you too through our mutual interests. I do so enjoy what I do here, and doesn’t it give you such a wonderful sense of fulfilment too?!
CONGRATULATIONS on your 2nd blogging anniversary, Charles.
When I saw pumpkin as the 1st ingredient from Kristy, I thought, oh no, not your favorite. Glad you used it in your bread and it came out great. Now you are a pumpkin fan, yes? Glad Kristy won, the sandwich looks delicious and the title is fitting. Looking forward to the bread recipe.
Thank you Norma! I wouldn’t say I’m a *huge* pumpkin fan yet, but it sure goes well in bread. I think I’ll try other veg in bread too… cauliflower or broccoli for example. I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
Congratulations Charles on two wonderful years and wishing you many many more with brilliant success.
When I first read the ingredients I was like hmmm how can these fit into a sandwich! but you are indeed creative!
I am looking forward to the bread recipe
Thanks so much Sawsan – it was a truly tasty sandwich, but best of all was the bread – I was astonished at how good it was, and I’m actually going to start experimenting with other veg!
Charles!! Happy, Happy 2nd year blogging Anniversary! We are so lucky to have you treating us to your wit, humour, fabulous photography and tantalizing recipes… so I’m reassured and delighted to hear that your blog continues to be a source of joy for you! Although I think your food styling and photography have always been quality, I know what you mean about us all improving over time. That’s what life’s about after all and how fun that we get to share a piece of this journey together. What a delicious looking sandwich – lip licking goodness and carrying a fine name indeed, very fun idea! :). Have a great weekend Charles.
Thank you for your kind words Kelly, although I can’t agree when you say my photography has always been good. Even now I look at some peoples’ blogs and I feel like I still have so far to go – still, it’s wonderful to be surrounded by such a great community who can teach me their wonderful tricks and techniques!
Congratulations on your anniversary! I feel the same way about my little hobby. If it were not for our blogs, I’d never have met you, way across the world from me!! And I wouldn’t have learned all the interesting new foods you’ve shared. This is truly a fun recipe, how you came up with it and the name! So clever!! Sounds really good too, wonderful combination of flavors. Great job!!
Thank you Linda – I quite agree. I think if it weren’t for the wonderful people I’ve met I probably would have stopped long ago. You all give me such inspiration and enjoyment 🙂
Wow! Charles, that’s an incredible use of those five ingredients, and I love the name! Congratulations on two years of blogging. Wishing you many more.
Thank you Jean – I was particularly proud of the name, haha – it was such a good fit 🙂
AHHHHhhhhh! That’s me squealing in delight!!!! How exciting!!!! I’m calling the kids over to the computer now. 🙂 The Monte Kristy Sandwich. I love it. Did you know that is also my favorite sandwich on earth (the monte cristo)! Pumpkin in bread. You’re a genius! This looks absolutely delicious. Of course we’re going to try this sandwich at home! What an honor Charles.
As for the Monte Kristy – it looks out of this world. Mike is salivating as he stands over my shoulder now. 😉 And of course I approve of the addition of cheese! This is just fabulous. Not to mention it even has the French toast thing going for it too. Mmmmm. Can’t wait!
Congratulations on two successful years of blogging Charles. You know how I feel about your blog, and you, and your family. Here’s to many more wonderful years of friendship and blogging! Cheers. 🙂 And thank you.
Haha, actually, I had no idea the Monte Cristo was your favourite sandwich (I’ve actually never had a real one… I should some time), but how fitting that I ended up doing this in that case! If you do give this a try I’d really recommend adding… hmm, something. It was really good, but missing a certain “something”. I think next time I would use a different sausage… perhaps something with a bit of a kick, and also maybe layer in some roasted bell pepper on top of the sausage too, just to give it a bit of sweetness and variation in flavour. Aside from that it was *really* yummy.
I hope you like the bread too – I’ll post it probably on Tuesday or Wednesday. It was a big surprise to me, both the flavour, and how well it turned out, and I’m going to try other veg in bread now (ha, finally a way of putting cauliflower into my diet regularly, lol).
Thank you for the ingredients submission which managed to come together so wonderfully, and thank you for your friendship and support! 🙂
What a lucky wifey!!! CONGRATS, my friend. I know you’ll be having two HUNDRED more =)
Thanks Angie 🙂
Happy 2nd blogiversary Charles! Congrats on your achievement and I’m really happy to be able to celebrate this special occasion again this year. Great pick on Kristy’s ingredients. Never seen pumpkin bread sandwich before and I love the creativity on this! 🙂 I look forward to celebrating many many more years of your blogging career with you!
Thank you Nami! I never thought, two years ago, that I would still be doing it now, and what’s more that I would have met so many wonderful people. I hope you decide to do some baking when I post the pumpkin bread, hehe – it’s really tasty, so I think it’s definitely worth a try!
I’m late! I’m so late! So sorry for the late wishes, Charles. Just back from a weekend trip.
Happy Bloggyversary! And don’t you dare think of giving up.
What a great name! And a delicious sandwich. I love the bread especially since I love pumpkin as well. Can’t wait for the bread recipe and to make the pumpkin bread french toast! Yum!
Thank you so much Ping – giving up… no chance! I’m having too much fun by far :).
I hope you had a good trip, and glad you like the look of the sandwich. The pumpkin bread especially was SO yummy… A great discovery!
Congratulations on two counts. First you and your blog are celebrating a wonderful two years of blogging which I enjoy very much. Secondly, what a terrific use of ingredients…the sandwich sounds great.
Thank you Karen – I really never thought I’d still be here two years ago, and having met so many wonderful people – it brings me such joy 🙂
I can’t wait for that bread recipe, this one sounds great (even though i don’t eat meat lol)
Thank you Jessica – I think I should post it on Tuesday or Wednesday, so do check back to see it! It was a wonderful surprise actually… I’m going to start experimenting with other vegetables in bread too, like broccoli and cauliflower which should be really fun!
Congratulation Charles on your two year anniversary!!!! That is awesome and you have done an absolutely marvelous job with your blog! You’ve been an inspiration in so many ways, but most of all, you have been such a joy to visit on a regular basis. Your space and you are so warm and welcoming and makes everyone that visits feel really special. You have taken me places that I will never go and introduced me to food that I have never eaten. I thank you for that! Now for the sandwich – WOW! What a 5 start creation from that list of ingredients. It looks absolutely delicious! using the French toast style pumpkin bread for the sandwich bread was ingenious!
Thank you so much MJ – It’s a pleasure to have met you, and I’m glad you can see a little peak of the world through my eyes. I hope I will be able to continue to show you such places, but as for never visiting? Don’t give up hope – if you ever find yourself Paris-way, do feel free to stop in for a cup of joe!
Happy Anniversary, Charles! All good things going your way.
What a great sandwich to celebrate with. This would be perfect for lunch today.
Thank you Maureen! The sandwich was so good… I do hope you decide to give it a try!
congrats and happy A! So happy for you and what a delicious looking sandwich for a celebration!
Thanks KB – I really recommend the sandwich – it was so yummy! 🙂
High marks for cleverness all around Charles. The name and your use of these ingredients are just perfect. I read this post a few days ago and I smiled for hours thinking of what a good job you did on this one. Congratulations also on your two-year anniversary!
Thank you Barb – it turned out so well I felt… was so pleased with it 🙂 Can’t believe I’ve been blogging for 2 years too… so crazy!
Congrats Kristy! That sandwich is smashing! 😀 Smart work there, Charles.. good on ya for the bread..very clever! 🙂 Can’t wait to see the recipe 🙂
Thanks Fati 🙂 The bread really was the star of the show!
I’m a bit late to the celebration, but wanted to make sure you have my heart-felt congratulations!! I agree, the people we meet here have been truly wonderful. Your blog and it’s videos, the birth of your sweet baby, and especially you, all keep me coming back here time and again to see what you’ve been up to! Only you could invent AND name a sandwich so perfectly! Here’s to the next few years!!
Thank you so much for your kind words Barb – it’s been quite a journey so far… I do so look forward to seeing where I am in 2 years from now!
Nice one. Pumpkin seemed like the odd one out, great way to incorporate (or hide!!!) it. I suppose the slightly sweet bread slightly resembled brioche – which would be great.
Hey, haha – yeah… I think it was a bit of a hide-job, but it turned out so well. I can’t wait to try beetroot bread 😀
Congratulations Charles! Glad you found a hobby that makes you happy! I appreciate and enjoy your recipes, photography and your sense of humor. I’m still working on my photography, I could use a tip or two or maybe three! I agree, blogging is a fun hobby and the best part is meeting people on the blogoshere from around the world; so fun!
I was surprised too to see that you used pumpkin but love the ingredients that Kristy put together. I’m thinking this would be a great combination of ingredients for gnocchi! Again congrats!
Thanks Lisa – I can recommend an excellent book… it’s called “From Plate to Pixel” by Helene Dujardin. She’s a very talented food stylist and photographer and has some amazing advice and tips. Well worth it. I got the book a while back, though haven’t had a chance to fully delve into it yet because things got kind of busy, what with little Will being born 🙂
Thanks for the book recommendation! I’ll put it on my Christmas list, hopefully my boys will buy it for me! 🙂
happy 2 year anniversary charles! I’m so happy to have known you and your wonderful food through your blog, and I really appreciate all that you have shared with us all this while. keep it going and lots and lots of love from me xxx
Thanks Shuhan! – It’s been so nice to have met you too… don’t forget to let me know if you’re ever in Paris some day! 🙂
Congratulations on two years of blogging, Charles! Glad I “met” you along the way :). What a delicious sounding sandwich, you did a wonderful job using those ingredients!
Thanks so much Laura – I do recommend the sandwich… it’s well worth it 😀