Croque Monsieur

OH my heavens. I certainly didn't intend the first recipe to be so intimidating. But in reality, it was very very easy and was absolutely delicious. I saw this on "It's Complicated", the movie with Meryl Streep, she cooked it for Steve Martin and when he bit into it I had it in my head to google this dish and have it on my table. There are so many ways to change it and make it your own. So feel free to tweak it if you feel so inclined.

For some reason I was ultra-motivated and I made my own french bread. It could be the new Kitchen Aid I received for Christmas, or just my desire for bread, I love it. But you don't need to bake your bread for heavens sake, just buy it. But if you are up for some self confidence, bake THIS bread.

I even made a baby Croque Monsieur for Jack, just his size. He ate it.

Croque Monsieur

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 1/2 cups milk

A pinch each of salt, freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, or more to taste

6 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups grated)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (packed)

8 slices of French or Italian loaf bread12 ounces ham, sliced

Dijon mustard

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 400°F.

2 Make the béchamel sauce. Melt butter in a small saucepan on medium/low heat until it just starts to bubble. Add the flour and cook, stirring until smooth, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking continuously, cooking until thick. Remove from heat. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the Parmesan and 1/4 cup of the grated Gruyère. Set aside.

3 Lay out the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven, a few minutes each side, until lightly toasted. For extra flavor you can spread some butter on the bread slices before you toast them if you want.

(Alternatively, you can assemble the sandwiches as follows in step four and grill them on a skillet, finishing them in the broiler with the bechamel sauce.)

4 Lightly brush half of the toasted slices with mustard. Add the ham slices and about 1 cup of the remaining Gruyère cheese. Top with the other toasted bread slices.

5 Spoon on the béchamel sauce to the tops of the sandwiches. Sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère cheese. Place on a broiling pan. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, then turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese topping is bubbly and lightly browned.

If you top this sandwich with a fried egg it becomes a Croque Madame.

Makes 4 sandwiches.

*Photo credit, me

*Recipe credit, "Simply Recipes"

*Bread recipe credit, "Confessions of a Bake A Holic"