A croque-monsieur is a French grilled ham and cheese sandwich, which means “crunchy mister”. A croque-madame is a croque-monsieur with an egg on top. Although the egg resembles a woman’s hat on top of a sandwich, food critics have claimed that an egg just makes the sandwich feminine.
Whether it has an egg or not, I still think this sandwich is a delicate and tasty snack. You see, the fine ingredients in a croquet-madame surpass a classic ham and cheese sandwich. A croque-madame includes grated Gruyere, sliced honey-glazed ham with a béchamel sauce between soft toasted cheesy bread topped with a medium poached egg. It’s delicious! The fancy name and presentation also makes serving the mini croque-madame a delightful hors d’oeuvre for your next social event (i.e. baby shower, bridal shower, housewarming, etc...).
Ingredients:
- 1 and ½ stick of unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 loaf of French bread, sliced round
- 1 pound of sliced honey-glazed ham
- 1 cup of grated Gruyere cheese
- 8 quail eggs
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Bechamel Sauce:
In a small saucepan, heat the butter until melted. Add flour and whisk on low heat until golden. Add warm milk and whisk until the sauce resembles a thick soup. Set aside.
Croque-Monsieur:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pair up sliced French bread. On one side of the bread, layer ham and grated Gruyere. Spread the other side with béchamel sauce. Sandwich the two together. Add more grated Gruyere on top. Bake for 10 minutes or until the Gruyere is toasted and melted.
Croque-Madame:
Poach quail eggs by heating ½ cup hot water (not boiling) and adding 1 tablespoon vinegar. As the water heats up, crack in the quail egg one at a time and let it poach in the hot water for 2 minutes. Do not stir. Spoon the poached egg out, drain it and place it on top of the croque-monsieur making it a croque-madame.
Serve while hot and toasted.
Enjoy!
Chan