Friday, August 27, 2010

Croque Monsieur

When watching movies I am always distracted by the food they eat in the movie! In the movie "It’s Complicated" Meryl Streep’s character makes these incredible looking cheesy, toasty bits of goodness. I actually pulled out my laptop to find out what they were eating. Turns out, it was Croque Monsieur... I had never heard of these French sandwiches before, but I couldn’t get them out of my mind!

It's ironic that we watched the movie "It's Complicated" because my life is so much more simple now that I have my cast off! Woohoo!! Exactly 1 month ago I blogged about my broken arm, but I am happy to report that my 6 weeks are up and I am cast free!
I can cook again!
I can style my hair!
I can fold laundry!
I can latch my bra!
... maybe that's a little too much information!

So, back to the Croque Monsieur! Traditionally they are "sandwiches" with two pieces of bread but I didn't think my boys could bite through two pieces of french bread and besides... in the movie Meryl Streep only used one piece of bread! Basically, it's crusty french bread, Dijon mustard, black forest ham, a cheese sauce (it's called a Béchamel sauce), and shredded cheese to top it off. They were good, and a nice change from the flavors we are used to!

Ingredients
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Salt and Pepper
1 1/2 cups Swiss cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated and packed
Crusty French bread loaf, cut into 1 inch thick slices (sandwich size, not skinny baguettes)
8 ounces Black forest ham, thinly sliced
Dijon mustard

Directions
Using a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat until melted. Slowly add flour while whisking constantly. Continue cooking and whisking until mixture turns a light blonde color, a couple minutes. Keep color light, do not let brown. Slowly pour in warmed milk, while whisking. Keep a light simmer and continue to whisk until sauce starts to thicken. Add Parmesan and 1/4 cup Swiss cheese a little at a time while stirring. Do not add all at once, or sauce will clump. Once you’ve combined cheese into sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat to low under sauce.

Lightly toast your bread slices on a baking sheet in a 400 degree oven, turn once. Do not let brown.

Spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard over each toasted slice. Add about 2 slices of ham to each piece. Sprinkle each slice with the Swiss cheese reserving about 1/4 cup. Spoon Béchamel cheese sauce over each slice, then top with remaining Swiss cheese.

Bake for 5 minutes in the 400 degree oven. Rotate pan front to back, then turn broiler on High for 3 minutes. Cheese will be bubbling and lightly browned when ready. Be sure to keep a close watch while broiler is on, they can burn quickly.

Remove from pan, plate up and enjoy! Have an outstanding weekend, indulge a little, and be thankful for your two healthy arms!

13 comments:

teresa said...

yay for recovery! glad to have you back, that sandwich looks amaaaazing!

Kim said...

Yum, I've always wanted to try those after seeing Rachel Ray make them on her cooking show. Bread, cheese, ham... how can you go wrong!? Looking forward to seeing more of your recipes now that your cast is off!

Julie said...

Glad you got that cast off! This sandwich sounds like something I would love to devour.

Anonymous said...

It was extremely interesting for me to read that article. Thanks for it. I like such themes and anything connected to them. I would like to read a bit more soon.

Hilary Smith

Anonymous said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9chamel_sauce

Kristen said...

I love that you found these from a movie!

Anonymous said...

Rather interesting blog you've got here. Thanks the author for it. I like such themes and everything connected to this matter. I would like to read a bit more on that blog soon.

Hilary Hakkinen
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Jacque said...

Congrats on being cast-free! Although now your arm doesn't match your awesome new purse, LOL.

Your sandwiches look delish!

The Daily Smash said...

Looks good love your blog. Everything looks so yummy
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Pam said...

Glad your cast is off! That's a great movie and I wondered what the dish was. It looks and sounds delicious! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Great post as for me. I'd like to read more concerning that topic. The only thing it would also be great to see here is a few pics of any gizmos.

Jeff Stepman
jamming cell

Anonymous said...

Hi Carrie, I had lost track of you! So sorry about your arm. This looks wonderful and makes me hungry to try it. Glad to hear you are cooking again!

Unknown said...

I am and forever will be a sandwich junkie. This looks absolutely cheesy and delicious!