Croque Monsieur

Oh. Em. Gee. If you like grilled cheese, you will LOVE these sandwiches! Croque monsieur is basically a glorified French version of a kicked-up grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Layers of Gruyere cheese, ham, and decadent bechamel sauce get toasted together in a scrumptious, hand-held delight of a sandwich. (Can you tell how excited I am about this recipe?!). I first discovered "croque" at a restaurant called Aquitaine in the South End of Boston - they have a legendary brunch, and I found that each time we went (it was right around the corner from our old apartment, so we went every month) I never strayed from my good old croque with a side of watercress salad and a mimosa. Sometimes I got more adventurous and got the "croque duck", which I am sure had a much fancier name on the menu. Instead of ham, they used duck confit in the original sandwich... delightful! Is this sandwich diet friendly? No. Is it amazingly delicious? Yes! Hey, we all need to splurge every once in a while... or maybe once a year. Trust me, it's worth it. Enjoy! :o)

Croque Monsieur

Yield: 4 sandwiches

Ingredients

2 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. flour

2 c. hot milk

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Pinch nutmeg

12 oz. Gruyere, grated (about 5 cups)

1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan

8 slices of good, rustic, crusty white bread

Dijon Mustard 

1/2 lb. thinly sliced black forest ham (from the Deli counter)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk together for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the hot milk and stir constantly until the sauce is thickened, about 4-5 minutes (should coat the back of a spoon). Remove the pot from the heat and add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup of gruyere, and all of the Parmesan. Set aside for later. 

Toast the bread - put on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes, turn, then bake for about 2 minutes more or until lightly toasted.

Spread a thin layer of Dijon on one side of half of the bread slices. Layer a quarter of the ham on each slice, sprinkle with half of the remaining gruyere, and top with a plain slices of bread. Arrange the sandwiches on a baking sheet and smother the sandwiches with the cheese sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining gruyere. Bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn ont he broiler and broil for 3-5 minutes or until the tops of the sandwiches are golden brown and bubbly. Cut each sandwich in half and serve warm. Yum! 

Adapted from Ina Garten