CROQUE MADAME

Inspired by our Paris and Versailles trip last year, I’m making Croque Madame this morning for Saturday breakfast. Actually, it’s brunch since we were up kind of late. Hey, but that’s what Saturday is for, sleeping in and making some good food. There are also a few other French food recipes on letscooksomefood.com. I hope you check them out and give them a try. Here they are: Nutella and Banana Crepes, Ham and Cheese Crepes, Scrambled Eggs and Ham Crepes, Chocolate Almond Croissants, French Apple Tart, Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic, Beef Bourguignon, and , and French Onion Soup

I also use my homemade Dutch Oven Bread to make this Croque Madame.

Let’s cook some food!

Preheat the oven to 400 °F.

I’m making the white sauce (or “bechamel sauce” for a fancy word) first. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter over low heat in a small sauce pan.

Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour, stirring with a wooden spoon for 1 minute.

Heat up 1 cup of milk for a few minutes in a microwavable measuring cup. Pour the hot milk into the butter/flour mixture.

Whisk constantly, until the sauce is thickened like a soup.

Off the heat, add salt, pepper, nutmeg.

Add 1 cup of grated Gruyere and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, mix together and set aside.

To toast the bread, place the slices on the baking sheets and bake for 4-5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted. I’m using homemade fresh Dutch Oven Bread that I made this morning. The bread is soft inside and crusty outside. H-E-A-V-E-N! Trust me, if you make this bread once, you will want to make it all the time. I probably will never buy bread from the store again.

Add 2 slices of ham to each piece of bread.

Sprinkle with half of the the remaining Gruyere.

I’m making open faced Croque Madame today so I’m not going to put another piece of bread on top, but you can, if you want to make sandwiches.

Slather the tops with the white cheese sauce.

Sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere.

Bake for 4-5 minutes. Turn on the broiler for 3 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned.

While waiting for the bread, make some eggs. I like sunny side up and I usually cook them in a little vegetable oil with 1 tablespoon of butter. The key is low heat.

Cook until the tops of the whites are set but the yolk is still runny.

Top each bread with the sunny side up egg. The best part, other than putting it in your mouth, is to cut it with a knife and the yolk begins running down. Mmmmm……

We are in heaven. I really hope you give this recipe a try and please let me know how it goes. The comment section is right below the recipe card.

This makes me want to go back to France. Here’s a picture of Versailles Palace from our last trip.