Paris is the most beautiful city I’ve ever been. Each time I visit I fall in love over & over again. This past weekend my husband John & I had the pleasure of being in Paris. One day we went for brunch at a place called Cafe Marley which is in the court yard of the Louvre. Our view from our table was the amazing glass pyramid that’s in front of the museum.
I ordered a haricot vert & mushroom salad & John ordered a Croque Madame. For those of you who don’t know it’s a sandwich of ham, cheese & mustard that is covered with gruyere cheese sauce baked & then a fried egg is placed on top.
We’ve eaten this sandwich before but there was something about the day that made it even more enjoyable. I imagine sitting in front of the Louvre on a sunny Paris day with my husband would make anything taste better.
Enjoy,
D I V A
CROQUE MADAME
serves 2
- 6 slices of white bread, crust removed & toasted
- 1/4 lb. Virginia ham from deli
- 4 oz. of Pyrennes cheese, sliced thin (you can use gruyere or swiss)
- 1/4 c. dijon mustard
FOR THE CHEESE SAUCE
- 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp. flour
- 3/4 c. hot milk
- 1 1/4 c. grated gruyere cheese
- pinch of nutmeg
Preheat broiler to 375F. degrees
Heat the butter in a small sauce pan, when melted add the flour. Cook the flour for about 3 minutes on medium heat. It should form a paste. Slowly add the hot milk to the flour whisking the entire time. Cook for about 5 minutes & keep whisking to eliminate any lumps. Add the grated cheese & nutmeg. Stir until cheese is completely melted. keep on low heat.
TO ASSEMBLE A SANDWICH
Start layering to make the sandwich: bread, mustard, 1 slice of cheese, 2 slices of ham, bread, cheese, ham, mustard, bread. You should have a double sandwich. Press the sandwich with the palm of your hand to flatten slightly. Place the sandwich in a baking dish. Pour about 1/4 cup of the cheese sauce on top of each sandwich & place under the broiler until the cheese starts to bubble & turn golden.
While the sandwich is under the broiler fry the egg.
Put the sandwich on a serving plate & top it with the fried egg, salt, pepper & chopped chives.
If you eliminate the egg from the sandwich you then have what is known as a CROQUE MONSIEUR.
HERE ARE A FEW PHOTOS OF PARIS
