Easy Monte Cristo Sandwich a/k/a Hot Ham & Swiss

Throughout my entire high school career, the only consistent meal I ate was school lunch. Rather than pay for the three-course meal that differed each day, I stuck with the cheaper choice offered at a sort of satellite take-out counter.

“One hot ham & cheese sandwich & a peanut butter wafer, please.”

Every. Single. Day.

The only time I wavered was because my pocketbook deemed it so that I could only have one or the other.

Now that I’m a grown up*, my taste buds have matured**. To make it a little more interesting for my adult palate, I made an easy twist on the plain old (processed) ham & (processed “yellow”) cheese sandwich.

INGREDIENTS FOR TWO:
1/3 of a sheet of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry (Ahem. Where’s my %, dudes. I’m still pimping ya!)
Deli ham of your choosing
Genuine fresh Swiss cheese
Dijon or other spicy mustard
One egg, lightly beaten (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1) Pre-heat the oven to 400°
2) Roll out 1/3 of a sheet of puff pastry on to a lightly floured surface into a 12″ square then cut it in half.
3) Add a few slices of deli ham & swiss on each square of dough & smear it with dijon/spicy mustard.
4) Fold over your dough to make a sealed sandwich.
5) Coat with an egg wash if you like your dough looking brown and done. I’m cheap, so I save the egg unless I’m trying to show off for comp’ny
6) Bake for 20 minutes at 400°
7) Cut each sandwich in half and serve with cornichon pickles & an ice cold lager, because that’s what I like and I assume you’re inviting me over for lunch.

For a sweet twist on this savory recipe, skip the mustard and serve with maple syrup and a dusting of confectioner’s sugar.

*Still sucking syrup out of the bottle like it’s my mama’s teat & eating olives & pickles from the jar. I fear this will not change. Grown ups don’t do these things, do they?
**Matured=died. They’re dead. It takes habanero peppers drenched in wasabi make me taste anything.