Croque Monsieur

We were traveling to our annual Red Devon conference which was in Lexington, Kentucky this year, but stopped along the way in Birmingham to have lunch at one of Frank Stitt’s restaurants, Fon Fon.  Fon Fon is Frank’s nod to French and I was ready for a French treat. We chose to eat out back under the arbor as it was a beautiful day. As you know I go on and on about Frank Stitt, so I had a surprise when he came into the restaurant to eat beside us on the patio. He was eating with a chef from Monroe, Louisiana who was cooking at Highlands that evening. Since I know him and he knows me “somewhat” I told him I was still writing about him in the Andalusia Star News and probably everyone was tired of me going on and on about him. That got a good laugh out of him. What does Frank Stitt eat for lunch? Well, he had a glass of white wine and he and the chef from Monroe shared a charcuterie plate. I never saw his main course. They talked of new restaurants and new chefs in New Orleans, but I tried not to listen! But a treat for me to eat at his restaurant and see him again!

Our meal was excellent. Starting with a sazarac, (which was good as any in New Orleans), then we also had a charcuterie plate, consisting of many tasty meats, chicken sausage, radishes, small slices of potatoes, and small pickles. For my main course I chose a croque monsieur, the classic French ham and cheese sandwich. It was so good and I realized that I had not had one this good in years. I came home and found several different versions of how to prepare this sandwich. There are different versions as to the type of ham or cheese you can use. Most use Swiss or Gruyѐre cheese, Black Forest ham, or boiled ham.

I have given two recipes below so you can have a choice for your sandwich. One is taken from a bistro in Paris and one is from Harry’s Bar Cookbook (Harry’s Bar is in Venice). How could you go wrong with either recipe?

 

Taken from the Paris Café Cookbook, by Daniel Young, 1998.

AU GENERAL LA FAYETTE’S

Croque Monsieur

Makes 4 servings

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup flour

2 ¼ cups milk

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Pinch of ground nutmeg

2 cups (about ¾ pound) grated Gruyѐre or Swiss cheese

½ cup light colored beer

4 slices French country bread (large round loaf)

4 slices ham

Make a Mornay sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and mix briskly with a whisk for 2 minutes.

Still over low heat, add 2 cups of the milk, continuing to mix briskly with the whisk. When the sauce comes to a boil, season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Add ½ cup of the Gruyѐre to complete the Mornay sauce, remove from the heat and let cool.

Combine the remaining ¼ cup milk and the beer in a bowl. Add the remaining Gruyѐre to this liquid, let soak 2 minutes, and drain.

Top each slice of bread liberally with the Mornay sauce, sprinkle with the soaked Gruyѐre, and cook in a toaster oven or under a broiler until golden brown.

 

Taken from the Harry’s Bar Cookbook, by Arrigo Cipriani, published 1991.

This Croque Monsieur is fried in olive oil.

Makes six sandwiches

½ pound Swiss cheese at room temperature, diced

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

¼ teaspoon dry mustard or 1 teaspoon prepared Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon cayenne mustard

Salt

Cream, if needed, to thin the cheese mixture

12 thin slices homemade-style unsweetened white bread, crusts removed

¼ pound smoked boiled ham, diced

Olive oil for frying

Put the cheese, egg yolk, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and cayenne in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until smooth. Taste and season with salt. If the mixture is too thick to spread easily, thin it with a little cream.

Spread the cheese mixture over one side of all the bread slices. Arrange the ham over the cheese on half the pieces of bread and invert the remaining bread over the ham. Press the sandwiches together firmly.

Film the bottom of a heavy skillet with oil and heat it over medium-high heat until it is very hot. Add as many sandwiches as will fit in the pan and fry, turning once, until they are golden and crisp. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches, adding more oil to the pan as necessary. Cut the sandwiches in half and serve hot, wrapped in a paper napkin.