Croque Monsieur and Pommes Frites Seasoned with Rosemary

Have you ever tasted the quintessential French

sandwich, the Croque Monsieur?

My first time was at the Mon Ami Gabi in

Las Vegas and I was in love.

This rich ham and cheese sandwich covered in

a Mornay sauce is out of this world.

I was going to serve crepes for our

French inspired Bride's Maids' dinner

but remembered this sandwich and got

online to find a recipe.  I had no idea I 

could be lectured so much about a simple

sandwich- what cheese to use, what bread

to use, how to prepare it, etc.  

I ended up choosing Ina Garten's recipe and 

tweaked it a little as a crispy sandwich is desired

that can stand up to being smothered with

the Mornay sauce and then more cheese and broiled

so I decided to go the modern way and crisp 

my sandwich up in a panini maker instead of

baking the bread and then the sandwich in 

the oven.  The results were great.

Croque Monsieur Recipe

(Adaptation of Ina Garten's recipe)

Makes 8 large sandwiches

Mornay Sauce 

2 T. butter

3 T. flour

2 C. hot milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

dash nutmeg

1/2 C. grated gruyere cheese

1/2 C. fresh grated parmesan cheese

Sandwich Ingredients

1/2 lb. sliced Black Forest Ham

4 C. grated gruyere cheese

16 slices of thick sliced crusty bread

(I used sourdough loaves and cut them on

an angle to get larger sandwich slices.)

Dijon mustard

soft butter

Heat oven to Broil.

In a small saucepan place the 2 C. milk and heat

it until it is just bubbling around the edges.  Meanwhile

melt the butter in another small sauce pan.  Add the

flour and stir and heat for about 1 minute.  Gradually

pour in the hot milk.  If you make your sauce with

hot milk, it will thicken almost immediately.

Stir in the seasonings and the cheese and heat 

gently until the cheese is melted.  Set aside and

let cool until thickened.

Butter the outsides of your bread.  Spread Dijon

mustard on one half of the sandwich.  Top with a 

generous amount of sliced ham and and a generous

amount of shredded cheese.

Put the two halves together and place in a panini

maker or use a griddle or frying pan and brown

until cheese is melted.  I used a panini maker and

just set the cover down gently and it worked perfectly.

When the bread is well toasted and the cheese 

is melted, remove and place on a baking pan that

has been sprayed with Pam.  Spoon a generous

spoonful of the thickened Mornay sauce on top

of each sandwich and then top with additional

Gruyere and Parmesan.

Place the pan of sandwiches under the broiler

until the cheese bubbles and browns a bit.

Some of the recipes said to remove the crusts

from the bread.  I loved the crusty bread and

wouldn't dream of losing those wonderful

crusts.

The aroma of the sandwich broiling is just

amazing.  

This is such an incredible flavor combination

and textural combination.  We had leftovers

again tonight!

Pommes Frites 
Seasoned with Rosemary 

frozen shoestring potatoes

Season All salt

crushed dried rosemary

vegetable oil

Heat the vegetable oil to 375 degrees.  I like to

use a deep fat fryer or an electric fondue pot.  Place

one frozen potato in to make sure that

it is ready - it should bubble rapidly.

Carefully place two handfuls of frozen potatoes

in the oil.  Stand back as the oil may spit from

any ice crystals on the potatoes.  Cool until golden - a few

minutes.  Don't overload the fryer as they will take

too long to cook and be soggy.  We like to use the 

shoestring as they crisp up better than thicker

fries.

When crispy and golden, remove from the oil 

with a slotted spoon and immediately season

with the Season All and rosemary.  

Serve creatively in a parchment paper cone in

a metal cone holder.  You can buy these at many

stores now.  I purchased these at Sur la Table

but I have also purchased some at Home Goods.

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Foodie Friday