Fancy French Sammie-the Croque Monsieur

I have yet to meet a person that doesn't love a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Leave it to the French to "kick it up a notch" with the Croque Monsier (aka "The Crispy Mister"). Some people might think this is overkill for a ham sandwich but when its all put together this is a MEAL.

A little history… Croque Monsieur Sandwiches were first served in 1910 in the "Le Trou dans le Mur" café on the Boulevard des Capucines in Paris, across from the Café de la paix. [Larousse Gastronomique. 1988 English edition. Page 339.].

There are so many variations to this Sammie. Some add apples, or pears, different cheeses, breads, hams and mustards. The recipe below is a basic Croque Monsieur doctored up with some yummy béchamel. We often see the Croque Madame as an option on menu's. Here in the US it usually means an egg on top. Traditionally in France it means to substitute chicken for the ham.

Traditional CM's are fantastic for entertaining as an appie or the main course. Depending on which course it will be served at will dictate the bread. If I am serving as an appie I will use a good white bread, cut off the crusts, omit the béchamel if you want and cut it into 4 or 8 triangles. If you do 8 triangles stick toothpicks in them so people can just pop them in their mouth. I have yet to have any leftovers. If you are serving this as a main I pick a nice French bread (not a baguette). When prepping these in advance with the béchamel sauce first assemble the sandwiches and then cook the béchamel but be sure to cover the sauce with a piece of buttered wax paper. The paper must touch the entire surface of the sauce. It is best to reheat this over a double boiler. Serve this either with salad, your favorite soup or if you're feeling naughty, some fries!

Croque Monsier
4 sandwiches

 3 T butter
3 T flour
1 C milk
2 T Parmesean Reggiano grated
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Salt/pepper
8 slices of bread
16 slices of Black Forest Ham thin sliced
2 1/3 Cups Gruyere shredded
Dijon Mustard

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. To make béchamel sauce: In a small saucepan on low heat, melt butter until foamy. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly with a flat sauce whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Slowly add milk and nutmeg to saucepan. Whisking constantly, bring to a simmer; continue cooking until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in Parmigiano and 2 tbsp grated Gruyère. Reserve.
   
3. Lightly and evenly butter bread slices on both sides and toast both sides in sauté pan over low heat until just golden brown.
   
4. Spread one side of each toasted slice with mustard.
   
5. Evenly place the ham slices and about ½ cup Gruyère cheese on four of the bread slices.
   
6. Top each with one of remaining bread slices, mustard-side down.
   
7. Spread béchamel sauce to cover the top of each sandwich (crusts, too).
   
8. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining Gruyère cheese.
   
9. Place on oven-safe sheet pan and bake 5 minutes at 350 degrees, then place under lit broiler until cheese mixture on top is bubbling and lightly browned, about 3 minutes

Risotto…my comfort food

Risotto was one of those dishes that I was intimidated from as a young cook. It was never served in my house and I wasn't really introduced to it until I went to Italy my first time about 15 years ago. I have been fortunate enough to try it all over the world and I don't know what it is but in Italy it ALWAYS tastes better. Kind of like croissants in France…. I really believe that it's the Parmesan Reggiano. I don't care what anyone says but by the time its been cut, transported, and into my fridge its old and dry. If you have the opportunity to get to Italy go to any grocery store and buy a chunk of it vacuum sealed and take it home. I have no idea if this is OK with customs but until I am searched I will keep doing it.

There are so many different variations to risotto but I tend to stick to veggies and shrimp. My favorite is mushroom. Something about the earthiness of the mushrooms and the creamyness of the rice YUM! I have cooked risotto with squash too and it came out fantastic.

Risotto is so incredibly easy! And its not as time consuming as people think it is. I DO NOT stand over the stove and stir for 25 minutes. I stir, walk away, stir, do something else. While yes you need to be in your kitchen you do not need to be at the stove. It can be served as a main dish with a light salad or in smaller portions as a side dish or first course. This dish cant really be done ahead of time but you can do most of it an hour before your guests come.

Mushroom Risotto

1 lb mushrooms sliced (I prefer Portobello)
EVOO
4 cups warm chicken broth (or veggie broth if preferred)
4 T butter
1 small onion minced
Salt/pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine (or apple juice)
½ cup grated Parmesan Reggiano


In a large saucepan heat 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat and add onion. Cook, stirring occasionally until soft but no color. Add rice and constantly stir for 2 minutes. Add wine and cook until absorbed stirring occasionally. Add 2 cups of hot broth and simmer over medium low heat until absorbed stirring occasionally. This will take about 10 minutes.Continue adding broth ½ cup (or ladel) at a time and stirring occasionally. In the meantime heat EVOO in pan and add mushrooms. Cook until desired softness and season to taste. When all broth is absorbed and rice is creamy add mushrooms and cheese. Serve hot with extra cheese. You can make this 1 hour ahead of time but leave some extra broth. Before you are ready to serve heat the rice and add the last of the broth stirring constantly, then add mushrooms and cheese.

TIP: since we never drink white wine in my house I never have a bottle opened to justify ½ a cup so I started purchasing those small 4pack bottles of white wine. They are perfect in recipes like this where the wine isn't the star of the dish but there is only a sublte hint of it.

Gadget: Strawberry corer
A couple months ago we threw a large party and had a good size chocolate fountain going. One of the dippers was strawberries. I had a huge tray of them that needed to be hulled. Well, I had to ask my husband to hull them while I was doing other stuff. In my stocking this year for Christmas was this cool strawberry corer. I just tried it out on some fantastic strawberries from the market (I love CA produce) and it was fantastic! I was always one to just lop off the top and lose 1/3 of the strawberry, NOT anymore!
http://joieshop.com/e/item.asp?ItemCode=10187&CatCode=14483&s=0223CCD