Croque Monsieur

Croque Monsieur is one of those delectable sandwiches you will always remember eating.  My first one was at The French Pastry Shop in the La Fonda hotel in Santa Fe, NM.  Fast forward many years and I found the perfect recipe for one of the best Croque Monsieur sandwiches ever.  This recipe is from Cook's Country magazine and it is sandwich worth savoring.

Croque Monsieur
From Cook's Country

Ingredients:

Sandwich
8 slices hearty white sandwich bread
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
12 ounces thinly sliced Black Forest deli ham
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded (1 cup)

Mornay Sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
4 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded (1 cup)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Pinch ground nutmeg

Directions:
1. For The Sandwiches:  Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat oven to 375 degrees.  Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil spray.
2. Brush bread on both sides with melted butter and place on prepared sheet.  Bake until light golden brown on top, about 10 minutes.  Remove sheet from oven and flip slices.  Return to oven and bake until golden brown on second side, about 3 minutes.  Reserve 4 slices for sandwich tops; evenly space remaining 4 slices on sheet.
3. For The Mornay Sauce:  Melt butter in small saucepan oven medium heat.  Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute.  Slowly whisk in milk and bring to boil.  Once boiling remove from heat and quickly whisk in Gruyere, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until smooth.
4. Spread 1 tablespoon Mornay on each slice of toast on sheet.  Then, folding ham slices over themselves multiple times so they bunch up, divide ham every among slices of toast.   Spread 2 tablespoon Mornay on 1 side of each reserved slice of toast and place slices Mornay side down on top of ham.
5. Spread 2 tablespoons Mornay evenly over top of each sandwich, making sure to completely cover toast, including edges (exposed edges can burn under broiler).  Sprinkle sandwiches with  Parmesan, followed by Gruyere.
6. Bake until cheese on top of sandwiches is melted, about 5 minutes.  Turn on broiler and broil until cheese bubbles across tops of sandwiches and edges are spotty brown, about 5 minutes.   Serve.

Make 4 sandwiches.

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