Barefoot Blogger: Croque Monsieur

This was my first recipe with the Barefoot Blogger group. For those of you who love Ina Garten as much as I do, please consider joining this awesome group. Click on the link on the right side of my web page to check out the details.

We made this the other night and invited a friend and her adorable young son over for dinner. She said that her husband was traveling to Germany for work. So I said, "We're happened to be making Croque Monsieur for dinner tonight, wanna come over?" She said, in caps lock (because I was on IM with her)," YES. I LOVE CROQUE MONSIEUR. What time?"

We only used half of the recipe, but it was perfect for 4 people (we had a side dish and dessert as well though). The sauce took longer than I had anticipated to thicken, but it turned out great after I added more flour. My friend, by the way, is a French-American woman who have made this hundred times, and she thought that the recipe was “excellent”. Used the thick-sliced honey ham, and the white Pepperidge farm as Ina recommended.

YUM!


Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch nutmeg
12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
Dijon mustard
8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin



Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan and set aside.
To toast the bread, place the slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.
Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyere. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.