Indulge in the delectable symphony of flavors presented by the Croque Monsieur Pie, a culinary masterpiece that artfully combines the richness of a classic French sandwich with the comforting allure of a savory pie. This tantalizing dish showcases layers of buttery, golden-brown puff pastry enveloping a delectable filling of tender ham, gooey Gruyère cheese, and a velvety béchamel sauce. Each bite promises a harmonious blend of textures and flavors, from the crispy pastry to the melty cheese and the savory ham, all perfectly complemented by the creamy béchamel. Discover two irresistible variations of this culinary delight: the traditional Croque Monsieur Pie, featuring a classic béchamel sauce, and the Croque Madame Pie, elevated with a sunny-side-up egg perched atop its golden crust. Prepare to embark on a culinary journey that will leave your taste buds enraptured.
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CROQUE MONSIEUR
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter?flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan and set aside.
- To toast the bread, place the slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.
- Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyere. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.
CROQUE MONSIEUR
Provided by Robert Irvine : Food Network
Categories main-dish
Time 20m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- To prepare the sandwich, stack 4 slices of ham and 2 slices of cheese on a slice of bread. Evenly apply a quarter portion of the mustard to the inside of the second slice of bread. After stacking evenly, apply butter to both exterior slices, and then cook in a preheated pan or griddle on medium heat. Cook until golden brown, and then flip and repeat the process. This should take 2 to 3 minutes per side. Once cooked, remove and enjoy.
TIFFANI'S CROQUE MONSIEUR
Steps:
- Heat the canola oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until dark brown and caramelized, 25 to 35 minutes.
- Add the vinegar, sugar and 1/4 cup water to the pan. Continue cooking, scraping up any browned bits, until the liquid is completely evaporated and the onions are soft and jammy, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and reserve.
- Heat a stovetop griddle to medium low. Butter one side of each brioche slice with 1/2 tablespoon of the remaining butter. Flip the bread buttered-side down and place 2 slices of ham on half of the slices. Top the ham with a dollop of the caramelized onions and spread evenly over the ham. To the empty 6 slices of bread, add 2 slices of cheese. Fold the two halves together to make sandwiches.
- Place the sandwiches on the griddle and cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the sandwiches to toast on other side and melt the cheese, another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a platter and cover loosely with foil. Hold the sandwiches in a warm oven until ready to serve.
- Slice the sandwiches diagonally in half to serve.
CROQUE-MONSIEUR
While French restaurant and country cooking have been thoroughly examined by American home cooks, somewhere between the two styles lies a branch of cuisine that has been almost entirely missed: France's bar and cafe food. This is the realm of snacks like tartines and rillettes, salads and savory tarts, and one of most delicious of all: the croque-monsieur (literally translated as "crunch sir.") Good croque-monsieurs have a few things in common: a single layer of French ham and Gruyere pressed between two thin slices of bread. Some, like this one, are filled and topped with béchamel, which makes the whole thing creamier and better. The bread is brushed with butter, and the sandwich is cooked on a griddle or toasted under a broiler so that the cheese almost liquefies and the bits of ham and cheese hanging out the side fall limp and caramelize. It should be rich, substantial and salty, so you will reach for a glass of wine or beer between bites.
Provided by Amanda Hesser
Categories dinner, lunch, quick, sandwiches, main course
Time 20m
Yield 2 sandwiches
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Preheat a two-sided electric griddle on medium-high to high for about 20 minutes, or preheat the oven to 300 degrees and preheat a cast-iron skillet on top of the stove for about 5 minutes. Prepare a bechamel sauce: in a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter. When bubbles have subsided, add flour and whisk vigorously for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk until smooth. Bring to a boil, and cook until thick. Remove from heat, and season to taste with salt and nutmeg.
- Spread two slices of bread generously with sauce. Lay two slices of ham on top of each, and top each with a slice of cheese; ham and cheese should slightly overlap edges of bread. Top each with a slice of bread.
- In a small saucepan, melt remaining the 4 tablespoons butter. Brush the sandwiches on both sides with butter, making sure that the edges are well covered. If you're using a griddle, place cheese side down, close the griddle and cook until the bread is toasted dark and cheese is leaking out and bubbling. If you're using a skillet, place sandwiches cheese side down and cook on stove top until well browned, then turn and brown again. Transfer skillet to oven, and bake until heated through and cheese is bubbling. Serve hot.
CROQUE MONSIEUR
"This is my all-time favorite sandwich-it reminds me of growing up in France."
Provided by Marc Murphy
Time 25m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Make the bechamel. In a small saucepot, heat the milk over medium heat until warm to the touch; set aside. In a separate small saucepot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour, reduce the heat to low and cook, whisking continuously, until the raw flour taste has been cooked out, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the warm milk until smooth. Grate the nutmeg into the bechamel.
- Season the bechamel with salt and bring to a simmer, whisking continuously, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the Gruyere. Whisk the mixture until smooth and set aside.
- Assemble the sandwiches. Heat the broiler on high. Set the bread on a sheet pan and place 3 slices of the ham on each slice of bread. Spoon a thin layer of the bechamel on top of the ham. Divide the Gruyere evenly among the sandwiches and season with pepper. Broil until the cheese melts and turns golden brown, about 3 minutes.
BUVETTE'S CROQUE MONSIEUR
As served at Buvette in New York City. Martha prefers less bechamel on her sandwich, so when she made chef Jody Williams's recipe on Cooking School episode 407, she halved the recipe for the sauce. (See Cook's Note below.)
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Appetizers
Time 32m
Yield Makes 8 sandwiches
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Make the bechamel: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, and slowly add hot milk. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and 1/2 cup Gruyere.
- Lightly brush 4 slices bread with mustard. Add 1 slice baked ham to each, and sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons Gruyere. Top with 4 more slices toasted bread. Slather tops with bechamel, and sprinkle with remaining Gruyere and 1/4 teaspoon herbes de Provence.
- Bake sandwiches until topping is lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Serve hot with cornichons.
CLASSIC CROQUE MONSIEUR
Think of this classic French bistro sandwich as a ham and cheese sandwich, sent over the top with a Bechamel sauce. Rich, cheesy, and warm, you might just need a knife and fork! I like to make the Bechamel first, and have all the cheese grated, so the assembly goes quickly. Garnish with cornichons, if you like, and serve with a vegetable salad or simple soup.
Provided by Bibi
Time 45m
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine milk and cream in a microwave-safe container and microwave on high power, about 90 seconds. The liquid should be warm to the touch.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and keep stirring until all the flour is coated in butter, and the flour and butter begin to bubble, about 2 minutes. Gradually stir in warmed milk and cream and cook until sauce begins to thicken, stirring constantly. Continue stirring, until the sauce is thick and bubbly, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat and brown 4 pieces of bread on 1 side, about 4 minutes. Place browned bread on the prepared baking sheet, browned side down.
- Spread each piece of bread with Bechamel sauce, from edge to edge. Place two slices of deli ham on the Bechamel and top with 1/2 cup of grated Gruyere cheese. Place remaining bread slices on top of each sandwich and spread the top with Bechamel, from edge to edge. Sprinkle the top of each sandwich with 2 tablespoons grated Gruyere cheese and 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is melted, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Turn on the oven's broiler.
- Move baking sheet about 6 inches from the heat source and broil sandwiches until the top is bubbly and brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Watch carefully, to avoid scorching the parchment paper and burning the cheese. Allow the sandwiches to cool slightly, cut in half, and serve warm.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 878.9 calories, Carbohydrate 38.7 g, Cholesterol 193.4 mg, Fat 60.6 g, Fiber 1.4 g, Protein 44.7 g, SaturatedFat 33.9 g, Sodium 1616.1 mg, Sugar 6 g
CROQUE-MONSIEUR
Easily adaptable into a Monte Cristo by just adding chicken, this wonderful battered then fried sandwich makes a great lunch with a tossed salad.
Provided by Sneakyteaky
Categories 100+ Breakfast and Brunch Recipes Eggs Breakfast Sandwich Recipes
Time 20m
Yield 3
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Use 2 tablespoons of the butter to spread over one side of each slice of bread. On three of the slices, spread a layer of Dijon mustard over the butter, and top each with 4 slices of ham. On the other three, spread mayonnaise, and top each one with 2 slices of Swiss cheese. Press ham and cheese sides of sandwiches together.
- In a flat bottomed dish, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, and water until blended. Set aside.
- Heat remaining butter and vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip both sides of each sandwich in the egg mixture, and fry in the oil and butter until browned, flipping to brown on each side.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 960.5 calories, Carbohydrate 38.1 g, Cholesterol 283.9 mg, Fat 69 g, Fiber 1.5 g, Protein 45.6 g, SaturatedFat 30.5 g, Sodium 2492.3 mg, Sugar 3.3 g
QUICK CROQUE MONSIEUR
Looking for a Gruyere substitute? Give Fontina, Comte, or even a sharp cheddar a try for this quick and delicious Croque Monsieur recipe. It's topped with a Bechamel sauce that's out of this world.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Breakfast & Brunch Recipes
Time 30m
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in bottom third. Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat until hot, about 5 minutes. Melt butter in another saucepan over medium heat; add flour, whisk to combine, and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons thyme, then gradually whisk in milk. Simmer bechamel 2 minutes, whisking. Remove from heat, and add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- Cut top crust off bread; slice loaf in half horizontally. Fill sandwich with mustard, ham, and half the Gruyere. Toast on a baking sheet until cheese is melted and top is golden brown.
- Remove from oven. Preheat broiler. Spread bechamel on top, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Broil until golden brown and bubbling, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven; garnish with pepper and remaining thyme. Let sit 10 minutes before cutting.
Tips:
- Use high-quality ingredients for the best flavor.
- If you don't have a pie crust, you can use a store-bought one.
- Be sure to pre-cook the bacon and ham before adding it to the pie.
- Use a variety of cheeses for a more complex flavor.
- Don't overcook the pie, or the crust will become dry and crumbly.
- Serve the pie warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
Conclusion:
Croque Monsieur Pie is a delicious and easy-to-make dish that is perfect for any occasion. With its flaky crust, creamy cheese filling, and savory ham and bacon, it's sure to be a hit with everyone. So next time you're looking for a new and exciting recipe, give Croque Monsieur Pie a try.
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