Scalloped Croque Monsieur

Mr Wonderful's birthday was two days after Thanksgiving. His absolute favorite food is scalloped or au gratin potatoes, so I decided to make a variation by adding classic Croque Monsieur flavors: mustard and ham. In addition, we had a lovely salad with apples, candied pecans, bacon, caramelized balsamic onions, blue cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. And for dessert we had Tiramisu, another favorite of his.

Russet potatoes are an antioxidant-rich food, so this will be my submission for Sweetnicks' ARF/5-a-day roundup. Click the link to see more great recipes from food bloggers!

Scalloped Croque Monsieur
4 Tbsp butter
1/4 c flour
2 c milk
1 Tbsp good grainy mustard
1/4 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated, if possible)
1 1/2 c shredded Gruyere cheese (or other good swiss-type, like Emmenthal or Comte)
3 small russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
1/4 lb thinly sliced deli ham
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375.

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter starts to bubble slightly, add the flour and cook for a minute or two. Add the milk slowly, stirring or whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Raise the heat to high, and continue stirring constantly, until the sauce begins to thicken. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the mustard, nutmeg, salt & pepper (go easy on the salt; cheese is salty) and 1 cup of the shredded cheese.

In an 8" buttered baking dish, layer the potatoes, sauce and ham, starting with a little bit of sauce on the bottom, and ending with a bunch of sauce on top to make sure it's all covered. Sprinkle the casserole with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the potatoes are soft and the casserole is golden brown on top. Serves 2-3.

French Onion Soup

French onion soup with a glass of wine - the perfect combination for a rainy day.

I got the recipe from Williams Sonoma's Paris cookbook (this is not the same as the recipe on their website). It's super-easy, but it takes about two hours to make. Luckily I always have lots of leftovers, so it's always worth it. :)

Croque Monsieur

Lunch 4/14/2007
Originally uploaded by jperkins98.

Croque monsieur: French for super-freaking-awesome ham and cheese sandwich!

Croque Monsieur

4 slices white sandwich bread
Dijon mustard (I used whole grain)
6 deli slices ham
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
2 cup milk
1 c shredded Gruyere (or thereabouts)
Salt & pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg (or jarred, in a pinch)

Preheat broiler.

Toast the bread lightly, and cut off the crusts. Thinly spread mustard on the bread, then top two slices of bread with three slices of ham each. Place open-faced sandwiches on cookie sheet (you might want to line cookie sheet with foil or something for easier clean-up). Top the sandwiches with some of the grated cheese (about a quarter cup total), then the other slices of bread.

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the flour, mix well, and let the flour cook for a minute or two. Add the milk, stirring constantly, and cook until the sauce is thickened slightly (it should coat the back of the spoon). Season with salt & pepper and a sprinkling of nutmeg. Add about half a cup of the grated cheese, stirring until completely melted. Pour some sauce over the sandwiches and top with the very last quarter-cup of the grated cheese. Pop it under the broiler until bubbly and golden brown. Or, if you're impatient like me, just wait until the cheese is melted, then pull it out and scarf.

Note: You may have too much cheese sauce. I always do. Just dip another piece of bread in the sauce and snack on it while you wait for the sandwiches to finish in the oven. ;-)