Croque Monsieur or Croque Madame

I knew from the first minute I woke up yesterday morning that it was raining outside.  I could hear the sloshy sound of cars traveling on the streets, water spitting out from under their wheels.  What a great excuse to lie around in bed all day, but there were things to do.  Instead, I threw back my fluffy duvet and rolled myself out of bed, literally.

 

Croque Monsieur

Stumbling to the kitchen, still a bit bleary-eyed, I opened the fridge.  Hmm, let’s see, there’s ham, cheese, milk, butter, eggs, and I know I have bread in the freezer; these are all the makings for a Croque Monsieur or Croque Madame.  This is one of my favorite all-time, top 5 sandwiches.  Toasted bread, ham, melted cheese, and béchamel, lightly grilled making it melty and gooey.  

 

Although this is more of a standard lunch item, I decide it wasn’t too early for Brunch.  After whipping up the Béchamel and pulling together the rest of the sandwich ingredients, I made a huge cappuccino, poured a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice, and added a fried egg on top to make it a Croque Madame, thus moving the meal solidly into Brunch territory. 

Croque Madame

 

Croque Monsieur / Croque Madame

Prep Time: 30 minutes (with making béchamel)

Serves: 4 people

 

Ingredients:

8 slices white bread, or 4 slices if serving open-faced

Dijon mustard (optional)

8 slices ham

1 1/2 cups Gruyère cheese, shredded

Béchamel (see recipe below)

4 eggs, fried (for Croque Madame option)

 

Assembly:

The first thing to do is to prep the sandwich.  Toast the 8 slices of bread.  If using, spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard on the bread used as the base for the sandwich.  Place a slice of ham on each of 4 of the pieces of toast.  Place 2 Tbsp of the grated cheese on the ham.  Add another slice of ham on top of the cheese.  Set aside.

 

The next step is to make the béchamel (directions and photos below).  Add the rest of the shredded cheese to the hot white sauce.  Preheat oven to 400^o Fahrenheit (200^o Centigrade, Gas Mark 6).

 

Place the 4 prepped ham and cheese toasts on a baking sheet.  Spoon one-quarter of the Béchamel-gruyere mixture on top of the ham of each of them, spreading it out to the completely coat the top of the bread.  Put baking sheet under the broiler for 4-5 minutes, watching carefully to make sure that the bread does not burn.  When the top of the Béchamel is golden brown, remove from oven.  Top with the second slice of bread.

 

If adding a fried egg, place the egg on top of the Béchamel once the sandwich is removed from the broiler.  Add the second slice of bread to top it, if using.

 

Béchamel (classic white sauce)

 

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes

Serves: 4 people for recipe above

 

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Butter

1/3 cup Flour

1 1/2 cups Whole Milk (do not use low-fat or skim)

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Pepper (white is preferable but not mandatory)

1 tsp dry Ground Mustard

Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Whisk in flour and let cook for 2-3 minutes until the flour is completely incorporated.  This is a roux (see photo). 

 

Roux (flour and butter mixed together)

Gradually add the milk, at first one tablespoon at a time.  Stir.  Let all the milk get absorbed into the butter-flour mixture.  It will start to resemble the paste that you used in elementary (primary) school. 

Then, continue to add more milk, still one tablespoon at a time.  Stir constantly.  As it is soaked up into the roux after each addition, it slowly becomes creamier.  At this stage, it looks like a rough purée. 

 

At this point, it is possible to add the milk in slightly greater amounts, until all the milk has been incorporated.  Continue to stir or the sauce will develop lumps.  Add salt and pepper.  For this recipe with the Croque Monsieur/Madame, I added the dry ground mustard.  For other recipes, nutmeg or no extra seasoning is preferable.  The recipe should instruct you as to what to do.

If the mixture seems too thick (remember for this version it will go on top of a sandwich and be grilled so you don't want it to be too soupy), you can add more milk to thin it out. If you do decide to do this, you will need to add the additional liquid by tablespoons again and completely incorporate so that your sauce does not fall apart.

This is how much this recipe makes.

Buon appetito!