Earlier this month I shared a recipe for the swoon-inducing Croque Madame. A Croque Monsieur is the eggless male counterpart.

This recipe is for an open faced sandwich, a perfect partner for a steaming bowl of soup. Ham is traditional, but I had some turkey on hand which proved to be really good, too, with the velvety cheese sauce.

Croque Monsieur

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk warmed in a microwave oven until almost boiling
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
8 ounces Gruyère, grated or thinly sliced
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
4 slices sourdough bread
8 ounces baked Virginia ham, thinly sliced (I used turkey)
Dill to garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400℉.

2. Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Add pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup of the Gruyère, and the Parmesan. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Place bread slices on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.

4. Layer the ham on toast then spread each with a spoonful of the cheese sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère.

5. Turn on the broiler and broil until the topping is bubbly. Sprinkle with dill and serve.

Serves 4

Recipe slightly adapted from Yum Magazine

Mellow. That’s what I feel like hearing today.

This brand new song from Rosenblume fits that ticket just perfectly. So pretty.

Check out Rosenblume on Facebook and his Website, where you can learn of upcoming shows in the UK. You can buy the music on Bandcamp. The new EP is due out next month.

Cheers!