THE CROQUE MONSIEUR

The Croque Monsieur is basically a grilled ham and cheese on steroids!

You will find many ways to prepare this classic French sandwich, which means by the way, “crunchy bite mister”. If you add a fried or poached egg on top, it’s called a Croque Madame. I passed on the egg this time.

It takes a little prep…you need to make a bechamel sauce then turn it into a Mornay sauce by adding some sort of cheese…I choose parmesan and Gruyere. The bread is your choice, but sliced sourdough is a good choice as in this recipe. This recipe is for two sandwiches.

Ingredients:

For the Mornay sauce:

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter

• 2 tbsp flour

• 1 cup whole milk

• 1/2 cup cream

• Kosher salt

• White or black pepper

• Pinch of nutmeg

• 1/4 cup grated parmesan

• 1/2 cup shredded Gruyere

For the sandwich:

• 4 slices of sliced sourdough bread

• Unsalted butter

• Dijon mustard

• 4 thin slices of deli ham

• 1 cup shredded Gruyere

• Chopped chives

Directions:

For the Mornay sauce:

• Place a small saucepan over medium low heat and add the butter. When the butter has melted, add the flour and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and cream and bring to a simmer.

• A the nutmeg and allow the sauce to thicken, about 3-4 minutes. Add the parmesan and the Gruyere and allow the cheeses to melt. Season to taste with salt and pepper…you will need salt. Keep warm.

For the sandwich:

• Heat a large non stick skillet over medium heat.

• Cut off the crusts from the bead. Butter 4 sides. When the skillet is hot, add the bread and griddle until golden brown on 1 side. Remove to a parchment line sheet pan.

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

• Lightly spread some Dijon on 2 sides of the bread. Then add 2 slices of ham to the Dijon side, folding the ham.

• Top the ham with Mornay sauce then add about 1/4 cup of shredded gruyere to the sauce side. Top with the other pieces of bread.

• Place the sandwiches in the oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes until the tops are bubbly and golden brown. Remove from the oven and garnish with chopped chives. Serve immediately.