I had to change my security settings for a website yesterday. And I just don’t like the nosey questions. I’ve never been accused of being rational. I know it’s just me being paranoid, but I refuse to use any questions that include names of relatives and places of birth, marriage, etc. Why don’t they just ask for your favorite color, wild animal, or foreign country? I was pleased that this particular site offered a new choice. “What was your favorite restaurant while in college?” It took me a bit to remember the restaurant’s name but I instantly remembered the dish. My favorite sandwich of all time…the glorious…the gooey…the deep fried… Monte Cristo. A double-decker full of cheese, turkey and ham. Sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with raspberry jam. Plate it up with a loaded baked potato and a dill pickle. It sounds so revolting that you know it has to be good. I haven’t had one in a looooong time. I can’t stop thinking about it.
For those of you that don’t know, I cannot eat wheat products. Daddy, are you reading? I’ll say it again – I cannot eat wheat products. Puts a bit of a damper on dining out and birthday parties and food consumption in general. I couldn’t even have cake at my sister’s wedding. And I loved some wedding cake back in the day. So much that I wanted to crash a reception just for the cake when I was pregnant with my first kid.
This affliction didn’t make itself known until about 11 years ago. So up until then it was sandwiches and pancakes and doughnuts and whatever else I wanted. For some reason, my father cannot remember that I have this pesky issue. He’s always offering me biscuits, cake, bread, pizza… Did I mention this has been going on for 11 years? And it’s not like I live far away and only see my parents occasionally. Their house is exactly 9.1 miles from mine. We see each other all the time. And when I bring to his attention that I’ve been dealing with it for more than a decade and he still tries to feed me these things, he responds “Well Shug, one day when I’m dead and gone, I hope you’ll wish I was still around to offer you a biscuit.” And I will.
So back to the Monte Cristo. I want one…or three. I found the recipe online and am going to try it with an alternate grain. All gazillion calories! I even have a friend’s homemade raspberry jam to go with it! I’m so excited. Probably difficult for you to relate. But seriously, go a decade without flour. You’ll get it.
I’ll keep notes and post the recipe if it turns out OK. Please say a little prayer for me because the deep fryer and I don’t get along very well.
Pie Pans & Pigtails 