Croque-Monsieur means “to crunch” from Croquer and “mister” from Monsieur. It is a favourite fast-food snack, nearly a comfort meal and as much as staple of school children lunches in France.

The original Croque-Monsieur was simply a good ham and gruyère or emmental cheese sandwich, fried in butter, first appeared in Parisian bars and café menus in 1910. Some uttered it was accidentally created when French workers left their lunch pails by a hot radiator and came back later to discover the cheese in their sandwiches had melted. However this sandwich was discovered and created first, this is a very popular sandwich found all over France today.
See Recipe.

Croque-Monsieur is relatively easy to make, although there are several variations of ham and cheese sandwich that had fashioned since the 20^th century. It is typically made with sliced ham and Swiss cheese, combined together in a good bread slice, and slathered with oozing béchamel sauce that gives the sandwich a gooey melt-in-your mouth texture after it spends a couple of minutes under the broiler. Its slightly crunchy cheese on top will find bliss in every bite when served warm.

I have tried one version of this sandwich, one that was created and popularized by a friend. It’s a ham and cheese sandwich grilled to perfection, with a fresh egg placed inside an onion ring laid over the ham. The runny egg inside the sandwich was a good substitute for the béchamel sauce. It was delightful that anyone who tried it loved it. He called it “Wimpy”. We loved it so much that we even called some nights, Wimpy night, devoted solely to it.

Croque-Monsieur was easy-peasy for my fifth recipe challenge. Still a great deal of effort for me as this was my first time to make it, to perfect it was the real deal.

I prefer Country ham than City ham for my Croque-Monsieur. Country ham is smoked, not watery and its smoky and salty taste adds goodness to the sandwich. Many gourmets prefer Country ham, which is dry-cured and then smoked and aged for added flavor. City ham is the kind that is brined. It is soaked in brine or injected with it and then boiled or lightly smoked. Another kind is Fresh ham, it is not cured at all and need to be cooked. A good substitute to a ham is Canadian bacon, it is leaner than ham, with the flavor of the bacon without the fat content and cured. It is enjoyed in thin slices too. I got very good quality Country ham and Canadian bacon from Santi’s Delicatessen on Yakal St. Makati.

I started to prepare the béchamel sauce, also called white sauce. It’s the mother of all sauces in French cuisine as it has been used for 300 years now. It usually forms the base for other sauces. Béchamel sauce was formed from adding scalded milk to a roux, a combination of butter and flour, then cooked for a few minutes, whisked constantly until mixture thickened. I added salt and pepper to taste and sprinkled nutmeg.

For bread slices, I picked Gardenia white bread. It is most readily available in supermarkets. I slightly toasted 10 slices (makes 5 sandwiches). It took no time to assemble each sandwich, piled a slice of toasted bread, glazed with dijon mustard, with the ham and grated gruyère cheese slathered over the ham and placed another slice of toasted bread on top. Then finally slathered over assembled sandwich the oozing béchamel sauce and sprinkled with more gruyère. Placed the sandwiches on a baking tray and baked for 5 minutes, then turned to broiler and broiled for another 3 minutes, until the cheese has melted, bubbly and lightly browned.

I served them warm for a light dinner. Had forks and knives handy.

It was past 9 in the evening when I served dinner for five. I had a friend and her husband who visited that night and joined us for a Croque-Monsieur night. Unfortunately my 2 guests are Adventists! Imagine their faces when I served pork ham on the table. I felt easily embarrassed by the fact that I didn’t even care to ask. I didn’t see it coming, as it was not something I expected. I expressed my apologies and it was taken. Good thing the couple was just cool about it.

It was still a fun-filled dinner with the couple and with my loved ones. After all, it’s the effort that I put and the uber-good Croque-Monsieur that mattered most.

I will definitely make this heavenly sandwich again…on a not so complicated circumstance.

It can be a delightful treat for brunch and afternoon coffee break too!

It was fun! I can’t wait for my next challenge! See you next time…à bientot!

Croque-Monsieur

Prep Time: 5mins

Cooking Time: 30mins

Ingredients

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

1 peeled clove-studded onion

1 small bay leaf

Salt and pepper to taste

Pinch nutmeg

5 cups grated Gruyere cheese

10 slices white bread

Dijon mustard

5 slices Country ham or Canadian Bacon