My lovely friend Clare in Geelong is a busy young lady – she’s juggling a new bubba and writing a blog, all while building her first home with her husband J. Clare recently remarked that blogs and social media often show a “prettified” version of our lives, and asked to see our #thisisreal photos. Here are mine!
December in our house is always crazy busy. It’s also the most enjoyable time of the year – Small Man is off school, we’re entertaining family and friends, and I’m manically experimenting with ideas for Christmas gifts. My kitchen seems perpetually messy at the moment…
As a result, I’ll occasionally forget to cook dinner (sigh). Pete walked into the kitchen at 6pm a few weeks ago to find me whisking up Irish cream and tempering chocolate, neither of which counted towards the evening meal. So he came up with these toasted sandwiches – and even though they’re just toasted sandwiches, they were so good and so typical of my engineer husband that we made them again last week so that I could share them with you.
Hmm. Actually, that’s not true. We made them last week because I forgot to cook dinner again on Saturday night. But they really were very good!
We started with thin slices of sourdough bread, ham offcuts from our ever generous friend Johnny, Dorset cheddar, butter and backyard eggs…
The outside of each slice of bread was lightly buttered, then a wall of thick ham pieces was constructed. Make sure the bread doesn’t have any holes in the middle – if it does, cover them up with a thin slice of salami or ham. Note that the bread should be quite thin – what you see in the photo below is both slices stacked up, butter sides together…
Carefully crack the eggs into a bowl, then scoop out a yolk with a little bit of white (my pedantic husband insists that a bit of white is nicer than all yolk, but that a whole egg is too much)…
Carefully place the egg inside the ham walls…
Add a scattering of cheese – not too much, the engineer insists, and none on top of the yolk…
Carefully slide the topped bread onto the flat plate of a preheated sandwich press, then top with the other slice, butter side up…
This is the important bit – set your sandwich press to the widest setting – then carefully lower the top. This stops the egg from being squished out – if your machine can’t do that, then you might need to cook these in a frying pan…
The sandwiches only take a few minutes to toast to golden…
I spent too long taking photos of this first one, so the yolk set a bit more than desired…
…but the second batch were perfect!
I’ve told both boys that when they move out, I’ll be buying them each a sandwich press and a Römertopf. Then I’ll deliver bread and eggs every week and know that they’ll never go hungry!
I hope you’re all having a fabulous December! ♥
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
This looks yummy! I usually make toasties in the oven – is a sandwich toaster a good investment?
We’ve used ours for over 20 years! I’ve written about some of the things we do with ours at the bottom of this post:
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2013/09/14/money-saving-time-saving-meals/
Those ‘toasties’ are certainly far from humdrum !! And I’m glad to hear someone else’s kitchen is messy at this time of year. (Mine’s messy quite a lot of the time…..actually.) ; 0 ) I cleaned up so beautifully before I left for Thanksgiving – then I proceeded to only mess it up again once I arrived home!
Cecile, it’s the sign of a creative cook! That’s my line and I’m sticking to it! :)
Cool idea. I’ve never thought of making a wall of ham :)
I had a fried egg sandwich this morning, I fried the egg first and no toasted bread, I love a soft yolk, just make sure you have a plate to catch any drips!
One of the best things ever, a soft yolk sandwich! My personal preference is with bacon, but that’s hard to do in the sandwich press! :)
Yum. I made my own version of this a couple of nights ago, after going out for a big Christmas lunch and just wanting something simple for dinner. But I love this idea of the “wall” of ham with the egg in the middle. Thanks for sharing!
Very welcome! My engineer husband can be hilarious in his precision sometimes! :)
Yuuuuuuuum! Its going on the emergency dinners list… xo
Easy to make too! :)
This looks wonderful, I want one now!
Deb, now that you’ve met Pete, you can just see him doing this, can’t you? :)
Clare has such a good point. We have a few locals here in Adelaide who are doing “real life” social media posts, trying to get past the usual faked fabulousness in many feeds.
And the only thing better than a man who cooks, is a man who puts a lot of thought into what he cooks. Nice one Pete!
Amanda, he puts a lot of thought into everything! It’s the way his brain is wired! :)
Great post! And I followed the link the your ‘money saving/time saving meals’ & enjoyed reading it very much. From there I went to your recipe for ‘pate brisse’ – which I ‘pinned’ with a note to myself to use that pastry for the large mixed-meat pies the French Canadians sometimes make. (I lost all the French Canadian recipes I had in a certain folder… I’m going to have to visit some of my neighbors and my husband’s family when I next visit so I can replace those recipes.)
Quick Question – when you make a larger size pie – like those shown baked in the rectangular white enamel pans – at what temperature do you bake them. The traditional way of baking the French Canadian mixed-meat pies calls for baking the pies, which contain uncooked meats, for quite a while – and I wouldn’t want to burn the pie crust. Thanks Celia!!
Cecile, I bake them hot – about 200C – but I only ever use cooked fillings. I’m not sure how to go about cooking a pie with a raw meat filling!
Mmmm, they look gorgeous, warm, filling, nurturing, quick & tasty. Perfect for on-the-run….& a sandwich press??? We couldn’t do without ours. There’s a whole post right there….we cook so many things on ours, AND we give them as presents :))
I don’t think we could survive without ours either! :)
I had to agree about the “prettified” blogs – mostly we don’t share the humdrum, ordinary stuff – but it’s fun to share that too sometimes! Had to smile as we just finished a quick supper of eggs & bacon…would have taken some snaps if I’d read your post first ;)
I once read a comment that said unless food was being used for evidence, any photo of it should make you want to eat it. :) I love the idea of bacon and eggs for supper – that’s a breakfast meal here! :)
It is here too but sometimes it’s just an easy supper dish too!
Oh, Celia, I really did “LOL”! You sound just like me — tearing up the kitchen, making all kinds of stuff, using up every pot and pan in the house (and I have plenty!), and … still … no … dinner! Sometimes husband doesn’t mind, but he was a little irked one night last week when all the chaos (and no dinner!) was caused by several gluten-free experiments for a friend! He said something on the order of “You can let your gluten-free buddies fend for themselves!”
Jean, that’s too funny! I’ve just asked my 21 year old if he can cook once a week from now on. He said he’d be happy to on a Wednesday night! Great for me! :)
They look delish and your eggs are so beautiful! Looks like your tastiest will be on the menu at my house too. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! Our eggs have the yellowest yolks in the world! (Or at least we think so – it’s all the greens the girls eat!)
Def on the list for the next time we have a ham. Yummy!
It’s the perfect way to use up Christmas ham! :)
Looks scrumptious. My husband used to be a master at cooking an egg jaffle when we went camping. Nothing better. Thanks Celia for the reminder to ‘be real’ with some of our photos.
Ardys, I always feel that your photos are real! And I love that you share a part of Australia that I’ve never been to with us, thank you! :)
I love the idea of using up my Christmas baking “yolk excesses” by making these toasties! Everyone loves a toastie in our house!
Holly, they’re the perfect way to use up our egg glut as well! :)
Your darling husband’s engineering skills do show :) !! Well known combo: foolproof presentation!!!!
Eha, he’s such a treasure – he made me laugh so much when he was being pedantic about the cheese and the bit of white with the yolk.. :)
That runny yolk looks fantastic! Sometimes I forget to start dinner and it’s news time and there’s nothing on the stove. I love these sandwiches. Clever man!
He really is, M. Adore the man, feel blessed every day I’m with him. :)
Engineers just can’t help building things! My husband will love these.
Jo, do you have one too? They really can’t help themselves, can they? :)
G’day This looks delish Celia and wish I could have one right now! I think any kitchen looks disastrous on any given day and is not reserved for just bloggers! Cheers! Joanne Happy Holidays!
Joanne, I guess the thing about kitchens is that they never stay clean! Hooray for working dishwashers, I say! :)
Even when l ate meat l was never a fan of ham but did like toasties, as you call them. My favourite was tuna and creamed corn. These days l stick to baked beans or cheese and vegemite. They are a yummy light lunch and, as you said, the trick is to close the lid slowly:)
Ooh tuna and creamed corn, I’m sure there’s a Japanese salad based around those ingredients! We eat a lot of baked bean and cheese toasties here as well! :)
ooh, those look good. Hmm, I think it’s just possible that I’ve gotten distracted with other things & forgotten all about dinner myself. Usually it’s when there’s nothing in the fridge that seems the least bit interesting. I wish John would get creative but usually he reaches for the stack of take-out menus. That’s ok, I don’t mind a break every now & then.
Pete seems like a very precise man & just look at the golden crust on that bread!
Diane, that’s a good description of my fella, he’s a very precise man. Unlike his running around like a headless chook wife! (How’s that for another animal based colloquialism?) :D xxx
But I’m thinking in all the madness, that you still have a plan (it just may not be an obvious one to others). I forgot about that expression. My mother always said “you’re running around like a chicken with its head cut off”… I guess it would be going in a bunch of random directions that aren’t very productive.
Oh Yes! It just oozes comfort food. We have one of those sandwich makers that have the little compartments and the bread never seems to be the right shape. They are made for white sandwich loaves I suppose. We don’t use it much for that reason. Maybe I need one like yours. Is Santa listening? :)
Anne, you’ll never look back! We use ours to cook burgers, grill steaks, grill veg, make crackers and more! Really Santa, are you paying attention? :)
hahaha I’ve told my boys the same that they will get a sandwich press and a kettle when they leave home!
A kettle! Yes, I hadn’t thought of that, better add it to the list! :)
These are brilliant!! I don’t have a sandwich press but I often make grilled cheese the way it’s done in the US i.e. on the stove in a pan and this will be perfect for that!! This is so clever! And I got the starter!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I can’t wait to try it and let you know how it goes! Hmmm….I could make this with it!! Definitely!
Nagi, have fun with the starter! :)
Celia, THAT is tidy. You should see my kitchen when I am cooking. I am a shocker. Tell Pete, his sandwiches sound and look perfect.
Glenda, you’re married to Maus the magic kitchen fairy! :D
Ooo, can’t beat a good toasted ham and egg – I need to incorporate the cheese though. Think I have the same sandwich press as you – so now we are double twins with our kettles and toasters. :-D
Have a beautiful week ahead Celia.
:-) Mandy xo
Snap! What a lovely thought to be “sharing” appliances with you, Mandy! Have a fabulous weekend darling! x
Personal blogs are so interesting, they vary so much, from the tightly edited and photographed to the rambling stream of consciousness style. but they all share their great strength which is that they allow us to control what we offer as a window into our own little worlds to an internet of strangers, some of whom become friends and some of whom gawk and move on. I am not surprised that people want to prettify and document their lives in these ways and it is a much more creative use of the internet than passively consuming magazines and other people’s pinterest boards. I am all for creativity! Now where is my sandwich ? Never made anything like that in my life. How do you do it in a frying pan?
I’m not sure actually, I thought maybe it could be cooked like a croque monsieur? And flipped very, very carefully? :) Yes, it’s always nice to put our best face (or should that be foot? :)) forward, although as the indomitable Anne of Green Gables once said, it’s not all diamond sunrays and marble halls, and sometimes dinner is just a very simple, albeit engineer designed, toasted sandwich! Plus the three glasses of white I’ve just had! Lots of love to you, my darling friend! :D
Celia, thank you so much for sharing/joining in. Our days are long and the kitchen looks like a bomb exploded in it! I love the look of this toastie. I read the post out to J, and I think he’ll be attempting it during the holiday season, when we’ve got our ham.
Clare, you and J are working so hard – it’s amazing how quickly it’s all come together! You guys are so impressive! xx
Sometimes I get so caught up with playing in the kitchen that I forget to make dinner too Celia- I’m so glad I’m not the only one! Pete’s sandwiches look perfect, and he’s right that you need to get the proportions juuust riiiight for ultimate dining pleasure :) MiddleC is moving out next year and we’ve bought her a sandwich press as part of her glory box already xox
Becca, I know you understand! He said, “if the toast is too thick, the egg won’t cook properly…” :)
Darling Celia, yours is such a perfect blog. I’d far rather read about an engineered toastie than some whipped up confection that takes three hours to make, photographed after another hour of primping and scene setting. This is one of the (many) reasons I prefer blogs to pinterest.
Thanks lovely Anne! I couldn’t be arsed spending four hours on a cake, but hey, you knew that, right? :)
Just to let you know my IMK December post is now up on surreyKitchen. Thanks. Emma xx
Thanks Emma! :)
Every time I see your wonderful header I want to burst out into song… “Food glorious food…” Even when I could be struck off the vegan register in shame for even LOOKING at said food I can’t help a bit of drool. What a sarnie Celia! The perfect mix of buttery crunch and oozy reward for your munching efforts. I thought I was the only one not cooking proper meals at this time of year! I have been holed up feverishly working on my eldest daughters Christmas gift (early gift giving this Sunday due to other commitments on the day) in order to get it ready and Stevie-boy has been existing on a slow trickle of things that he can find without assistance. Thing he can find without assistance usually involve eggs on toast and something out of the freezer that just needs defrosting and heating up ;). I am on an egg run to my daughters today and WE moved out 4 years ago ;). Loved this post, LOVED that sandwich and you are so right about sandwich presses, you will never go hungry if you have one :)
Maybe Steve needs to master the toasted egg sambo, Fran! Especially since you have dozens and dozens of eggs! I hope I’m still delivering eggs to my sons years after we/they move out! :)
Such a wonderful sandwich, you made such a simple sandwich a 5 star meal with your special touches. Happy Holidays!
Thanks Cheri! Happy December to you! :)
Seriously, seriously want one of your toasties right now.
Hahaha…easy to make, Jennifer! :)
Those look truly scrumptious!
Thanks Gretchen! Essential boy food! :)
the wonder is that you bother to write up about your kitchen and life tales (and that includes of course taking photos and posting), no matter how ‘ordinary’ they are. I always think who would care what I drum up in the kitchen, yet I happily lap up glimpses into people’s kitchens and bellies and lives. Therein too lies the difference between the lazy (me) and the dedicated (you)! And we always learn something don’t we. I laughed at the ‘wall of ham’ as fortification for the eggs. An engineer at work indeed :))
You’re not lazy and I’m not really dedicated! It’s just that Pete’s approach made me laugh so much because it was so quintessentially him that I had to share! :)
Just love toasted sarnies!
Maree, I suspect my family would starve without them! :)
Two words… nom nom.
We ate six sandwiches between us! :)
Aww..what a very caring mom! I’m sure the boys will never go hungry with all the care and craft you have shared with them! I can imagine the crunchy toast followed by the oozing cheese and tasty ham and egg!
Julie & Alesah
Gourmet Getaways xx
Julie, it was a very easy dinner! Though I think a more caring mother might have actually remembered to cook dinner for them in the first place..hahaha
It’s exactly the same around here, Celia. The last two nights we’ve had dinner at 8.30pm because Drew comes home to find me icing Christmas cakes and making chutney and cranberry sauce. It’s just such a busy time but a very satisfying time. Those toasted sandwiches are fabulous and no, they’re not an ordinary sandwich at all xx
I love this time of year too! And can I just say Charlie, I saw your cake pics and they look superb as always! :)
YUM! I made myself a grilled cheese with bacon sandwich for lunch but I think I missed the boat. Your sandwich is what mine hopes to be when it grows up. I’ve been considering baking a ham for Christmas but I think you’ve just won me over. The promise of this toasties is too much to pass up. :)
John, a Christmas ham is always such a treat, isn’t it! I hope yours is glorious! xx
The wall of ham is very clever! My toasted sandwiches are usually just cheese these are impressive :)
Stef, that’s my man – I do think a wall of smoked trout might also be very nice for a non-meat option! :)
Yum yum yumm! It is like a croque madam but without the cheese! Love your divine recipe! It oozes deliciousness! xxx
This is soooooooooo good, I’ve included in my Festive Favourites round up this week! Yum. xoxx