Croque Monsieur on a Croissant!

I don't know when I first became aware of the French ham and cheese sandwich known as Croque Monsieur.  Somewhere, someway, I either read about it or heard it mentioned often enough that I knew what it was, even if I had no idea what it really looked like.

My obsession, however, truly began in 2009...when I saw It's Complicated.  I'm glad "Thou shalt not covet the belongings of Meryl Streep's movie character" is not a commandment because I would still be saying penance. Hopefully, you've seen this movie and know what I'm talking about!  In the moments between the times I was laughing uncontrollably, most of my thoughts while I watched this movie were along the lines of

-"I want her house!"
-"I want her garden!"
-"I want her bakery!"
-"I want (John Krasinski's character) to be my future son-in-law!"
-"I want her purple suede boots!"

The food scenes were drool-worthy.  In one scene, when she took a baking pan out of the oven I think I may have actually said out loud, "What is that!?"  And when Alec Baldwin's character answered the question for me and said, "Is that croque monsieur?" I mentally made a note that I just had to make croque monsieur for myself.  After I bought a pair of purple suede boots, of course.  I'm still waiting for my future son-in-law to come and sweep my daughter off her feet.

She's going to hate me for writing that.

As luck would have it, Ina Garten's Croque Monsieur  popped up when I googled this recipe for the first time.  I've made a few adaptations--I use significantly less cheese, and instead of bread I decided a French sandwich calls for a croissant, oui?

Today's Playlist

• "Original Prankster"...The Offspring
• "Hook"...Blues Traveler
• "You Really Got Me"...The Kinks
• "Love You Madly"...Cake
• "Poprocks & Coke"...Green Day
• "Blitzkrieg Bop"...Ramones
• "Say Hey (I Love You)"...Michael Franti & Spearhead
• "Here Comes The Sun"...The Beatles
• "Sorry She's Mine"...The Small Faces

Croque Monsieur (Makes 4.  Adapted from Ina Garten)

Printable Recipe

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup hot milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pinch black pepper
• 1/2 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups grated Gruyere
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 4 croissants
• 4 to 6 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 1/4 pound rosemary ham, sliced paper thin

Gather your ingredients.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat.  Stir in the flour.  Continue to stir for two minutes...it will be lumpy!

Microwave the milk for 90 seconds on HIGH.  Slowly pour the milk into the butter/flour mixture, whisking constantly.

Whisk until the sauce has thickened.

Remove saucepan from the heat.  Add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, Parmigiano Reggiano and 1/4 cup of the grated Gruyere.

Whisk until combined.  Set aside.

Cut the croissants in half and place onto a baking sheet, with the cut side up.  Toast for 4 minutes in your preheated oven, then flip the slices over and toast for an additional 3 minutes.

Lightly brush one of the halves of each croissant with the dijon mustard.

Add two to three slices of the thinly sliced ham.

Sprinkle with about half of the remaining Gruyere.  Top with the remaining croissant halves.

Spoon the sauce onto the tops of the croissants.

Sprinkle the remaining Gruyere on top.

Bake for 5 minutes to melt the cheese.

Turn on your broiler.  Place the sandwiches under the broiler for 3 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

You need an knife and fork to eat this sandwich!

 Enjoy.

(Recipe for Truffle Tots coming soon!)