Recipe: Madame Croque

A while back I posted a recipe for a Monsieur Croque sandwich… a grilled ham and cheese (gruyere) sandwich…. the version I posted had a Mornay Sauce over it…. very yummy!..... well… a Madame Croque sandwich is similar… except that an egg is on top of the sandwich… it is usually a fried egg… but I decided to make a variation…

First a bit of trivia about the Madame Croque… according to Wikipedia … many dictionaries attribute the name to the egg resembling an old fashioned woman’s hat…. So I thought it would be very appropriate to post the recipe this week… since the sandwich does look a bit like an Easter bonnet.

Now back to my variation…. instead of frying an egg… I decided to poach an egg… and I also added the Mornay Sauce like I used in my Monsieur Croque recipe… the result?... fabulous!

TIPS

Gruyere tends to be very expensive… a less expensive alternative is using a mix of Swiss and gruyere.. Sargento makes an Artisan Blend of Swiss and Gruyere that’s excellent and more affordable.

Some recipes only toast the bread … I tried that method… but found it a bit too dry… I suggest you follow my instructions that spreads butter or margarine (margarine works fine) on the outer sides of the sandwich bread and then grills the sandwich in a grill pan.

This Mornay sauce is a little thinner than the one used in Croque Monsieur... it doesn't get broiled at the end so you want a thinner sauce to run over the top of the sandwich.

This recipe makes 4 sandwiches.









Recipe: Madame Croque

All you need:

For the Mornay Sauce:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
¼ cup Sargento Artisan Blend Shredded Swiss and Gruyere Cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Pinch of nutmeg

For the Sandwich:

8 slices of bread (I use white sandwich bread)
About 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine (for spreading)
½ lb. baked deli ham
2 cups of shredded Gruyere and Swiss blended cheese
Dijon mustard
Poached Eggs

All you need to do:

To make the sauce:

In a small saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter.

Add the 2 tablespoons of flour and stir well.

Cook for about 2 minutes to “cook off” the flour taste.

Slowly pour the milk into the saucepan, whisking constantly with a whisk.

Whisk vigorously to make sure there are no lumps. Sauce will thicken fairly quickly.

Remove from the heat and add the shredded cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir well until cheese is melted… about 2 minutes. Sauce will be very thick. Set aside.

To make the sandwich:

Spread butter or margarine on one side of each slice of bread.

Place slices, buttered side down, on a cutting board.

Spread Dijon mustard on 4 of the non-buttered sides.

Place a few slices of ham on top of the Dijon mustard.

Place about ½ cup of shredded cheese (Gruyere-Swiss mix) on top of the ham.

Place with a slice of bread, dry side down, on top of the cheese…with one the buttered side up.

Repeat for each sandwich.

Heat a grill pan over medium heat.

Place sandwiches on the grill…. grill until bottom is golden brown.

Carefully flip the sandwiches over and grill other side until golden brown and cheese has melted.

TIP: To keep the bread from sliding off when flipping over, place a spatula over the top to hold the bread in place and use another spatula to flip it over.

Place a poached egg on top of the sandwich.

Spoon Mornay sauce over the egg and sandwich.

Sprinkle with nutmeg.

Repeat for each sandwich.