"Charles Gifford" > wrote in message link.net>...
> "Kate Connally" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Charles Gifford wrote:
> > >
> > > I have done a considerable amount of searching today about the Monte
> Cristo
> > > sandwich. I, for some reason, thought that this was cooked by
> deep-frying.
> > > Most of the recipes I have seen are pan or griddle fried in butter with
> only
> > > a few that call for deep-frying. I have not been successful in
> discovering
> > > the origin of this sandwich let alone what the original method was. The
> > > variations are astounding! Can anyone help with the history of this
> > > sandwich? Thanks!
> >
> > Charlie,
> > I googled it and this is what I came up with.
> > It seems to be a variation on the Croque Monsieur.
> > It appears in the 1940's and 50's in So. Calif.
> > It is not deep fried, but fried in butter according
> > to the earliest known recipes. See these sites:
> >
> >
> http://www.hungrymonster.com/FoodFac...iches&fid=7541
> >
> > http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/food...ml#montecristo
> >
> > http://whatscookingamerica.net/Histo...ichHistory.htm
> >
> > Kate
> > --
>
> Thank you Kate, these seem to back-up what I had found earlier. I do wonder
> though where all the deep-fried variations come from. Other than that it
> seems that there is no specific answer. I do find the "Brown Derby" tie-in
> interesting.
>
> Charlie


Yeah, these sites are correct. The "Monte Cristo" sandwich is from
the 1940s and 1950s.
As I posted (somewhere else) in November 2000:


From RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT, June 1936, pages 412-413:

_Hy's Three-Ring Circus MENU MAKING_
E. A. Bachman, proprietor of the Annex, Portland, Oregon, features Hy
Frager,
the famous American chef who peps up menu listings with verbal
acrobatics.
(Pg. 413, col. 1--ed.)
_Combination Sandwiches_
"CLUBHOUSE" (Breast of Chicken, Crisp Premium Bacon, TOmato, Lettuce,
Pickles
and Olives)... .40
"RUEBEN" (Not "Reuben"--ed.) (Baked Premium Ham, WHite Meat Chicken,
Coquille
Swiss Cheese and Tomato on Russian Rye)... .45
"MONTE CRISTO" (Baked Ham and Coquille Swiss Cheese, French Toasted in
Butter)... .35
"ANNEX" (Oregon's Choice Yaquina Oysters, Ham, Green Peppers in
Butter, Cream
and Eggs)... .45
(Col. 2--ed.)
"POP" (Chicken Salad, Lettuce, Tomato and Bacon, Olives)... .30
"HOLC" (Baked Ham, Peanut Butter and India Relish)... .25
"PWA" (Tuna Fish, Tomato, Lettuce and 1000 Isle)... .25
"FOREST SERVICE" (Baked Beans, Chili Sauce and Bacon)... .25
"FRENCH DIP SANDWICH" (A crispy, crunchy Hard Roll w/ an amazing
filling of
Barbecued Meat, Swiss Cheese and a spicy, tangy Wine Sauce that
combines into
a superb bouquet of flavor)... .20

Also, RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT, January 1937, "ideas from a thousand
menus,"
pg. 55, col. 2:

SANDWICHES (...)
$.35 Monte Cristo (Ham and American Cheese, Dipped in Egg, Fried in
Butter)--Ballard-Ludlow Ferry.


And as I posted (somewhere else) in December 2000:


From THE CATERER AND HOTEL PROPRIETORS' GAZETTE, January 1923, pg.
32, col. 1:

Sandwiches
(...)
Monte Cristo... 50


Barry Popik
famous(?) traveling wordsmith, back from Namibia