Croque Madame

A few days ago Bev asked me to look up Croque Monsieur (Crispy Mister) on the internet and after reading the recipe, I told her it sounded very good – as I understand, it’s basically a ham and Swiss cheese sandwich that’s cooked under the broiler rather than in a skillet.  It also appears there are many variations with some leaving the bread just buttered, some adding additional cheese to the top, most assemble the sandwich at the beginning, and in looking around, a recipe from Ina Garten toasted the bread before assembly and added a cheesy Béchamel sauce to the top. 

I decided to go with the following version from About.com as it was fairly simple and didn’t include the additional calories of the Béchamel sauce.  Per them - "This traditional Croque Monsieur recipe is the closest version of the original sandwich served in Parisian cafes in the early 1900’s."

Ingredients for 2 sandwiches:

•1 tablespoons Dijon mustard

•4 slices sandwich bread

•2 ounces baked ham, thinly sliced

•1½ cups grated Gruyere cheese, divided

•2 tablespoons butter, softened

Preparation:

Preheat the broiler to the lowest heat setting. Evenly divide and spread the mustard on 2 slices of bread. Place a few slices of ham, followed by 1/2 cup Gruyere, on the mustard-side of the bread.

 
Cover the cheese with the remaining slices of bread and spread the butter on the outside surfaces of the sandwiches.
 
Place the sandwiches on an ungreased baking sheet and broil for about 5 minutes, turn them over, cover with the remaining cheese, and continue cooking until they are crispy and golden brown, about 5 additional minutes.
 
At this point the Croque Monsieur is completed but I wanted a Croque Madame, which is achieved by adding a tablespoon of Béchamel sauce and a fried egg to the top, but I omitted the sauce and just added the egg.

Mine weren't as pretty as some of the pictures I saw, but they were delicious and next time when we have a lighter meal planned for supper, I’ll try Ina’s recipe.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago: Big Dude’s Que For February

Two years ago: Even A Yankee Can Fall For Grits

Larry

1/31/2012 meal date