Croque M’Daaamn!
Plate made by Heath Ceramics.
Every time we vacation in France, we make it a point to get a croque madame, which is basically a ham & cheese sandwich covered in a cheesy béchamel and topped with a fried egg (the croque monsieur is the non-egg version). Leave it to the French to take a humble sandwich and make it luxurious. This is so easy to make, but for this dish, get some good thick ham and gruyère. Don’t forget to cook your eggs sunny-side up or over easy, because as my cousin TJ would say, yolk should be a condiment.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided (2 tbs for roux and 4 tbs for grilling the sandwiches)
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup whole milk
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
4 slices sourdough bread
4 to 6 slices thick cut ham
2 cups of grated Gruyere cheese
2 fried eggs
Kosher salt & pepper
Steps:
Preheat your broiler (500 degrees).
Make the béchamel . In a small saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly for 2 minutes to cook out the raw flour grittiness. Add the milk and bay leaf. Continue to whisk until thickened. Remove from heat, remove the bay leaf, and add the parmesan and 1/2 of the gruyère. Set aside.
Lay out your 4 slices of bread. Divide your ham across all 4 slices. On top of the ham spread the cheese sauce on 2 of the slices, and then top with the other half. You should now have a sandwich.
In a large non-stick pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Add the 2 sandwiches and heat up until one side is toasted. Melt the other2 tablespoons of butter and flip the sandwiches to toast the other side. Transfer the sandwiches to a baking sheet.
Spread the remaining béchamel on top of the sandwiches and top with the remaining gruyère. Place on the center rack of your oven and broil until the top is bubbly and starts to brown. If you haven’t cooked your fried eggs, this is a good time to do it.
To plate, slice the sandwiches in half (but still together) and top with your fried eggs. Cut into that egg, so you could dip your sandwich in all that yolky goodness!
