Project Monte Cristo

Eerily, in our family, unlike normal Filipino families, it is the men who cook. My dad cooks often than my mom (ergo, he thinks he cooks better. Maybe.) and my brother Jay is a wayyy better cook than Ate Jing and me. The fact that my father is an Ilokano and my brother studies cooking is, of course, a factor that works in their favor.

But if I had to pick, I'd say cooking breakfast is what I'm good at. Mainly because I'm a morning person and that breakfast cooking involves nothing more complicated than frying stuff. So with that in mind, I went on to experiment on my cooking skills--that is, if I do have them. Let's call this, Project Monte Cristo.

I first encountered this sandwich during lunch with a blockmate from law school at the Congress cafeteria. It tasted good, and looked easy to make. Then and there, I decided I would "cook" something like it, sometime. Unlike normal/aspiring cooks, I didn't search for a "recipe" to follow. I just knew of the recipe by looking at the sandwich I was eating.

My masterpiece. haha

Recipe According To Me:
Ingredients:
Bread (preferably Gardenia)
Ham (Argentina meat/beef loaf would do)
Cheese (Eden cheese tastes just fine)
Eggs
That's it. Ok fine, add salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Buy all the ingredients.
2. Fry meat/beef loaf.
3. Cut the bread in half.
4. Put slices of meat/beef loaf in between the cut bread slices.
5. Add cheese (and mayo, if needed).
6. Douse sandwich in beaten eggs.
7. Fry.
8. Serve!

Assessment: My sister and her roommate Mishele ate it with gusto so I guess Project Monte Cristo was a success. But I could use more practice (and patience) when it comes to frying.

Recipe According To The "Experts" (aka The Internet)

This is how it was supposed to look like.

Stay tuned for more cooking sh*t. :)

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