Croque Madame, Grilled Ham And Cheese With Fried Egg And Creamy Mornay Sauce

As I promise Celine to participate in her event called "How Do you Like Your Egg", I have made my favorite sandwich. To participate is very easy, just visit this link to see the rule (it's very easy).

Since this is also my favorite Week-end brunch, I also submitting this to Babeth for her "Beat Sarcoma" awareness blog. No pressure! But it will be nice if some of you also able to participate in this event. Thank you!

It was so cloudy, luckily wasn't too cold. So we still be able to hiked pleasantly. In fact, I actually like weather like this. It's easier on my eyes. I have a very sensitive eyes, my doctor actually suggested that I should avoid direct sun, wind, AC, etc. But, I tend to ignore those thing, and my eyes will be red, swollen, and itch.

I always feel hungry after a log hike, looking forward to go home and have a bowl of soup, or salad. Today was special, I wanted something really special. I decided to make croque madame for my self and my sister. My husband just happy with bread and jams or cheese. 

This is the most delicious brunch I ever had, and it will be my most favorite brunch ever!

Recipe from Thomas Keller "Bouchon"

Serve 4

Eight ½" thick slice brioche

8 ounces thinly sliced boiled ham

8 slices (about ½ ounce each) Swiss cheese

3 tbs unsalted butter

4 large eggs

1 cup Mornay sauce, warmed

fresh ground pepper

2 chopped Italian parsley

• Preheat oven to 375⁰F
• Lay out the bread slices, top with ham slices and the cheese.
• Heat the griddle, add 1 tbs  butter. Grill the half bread with the cheese side up for 1 - 2 minutes until golden brown. Transfer the griddle to the oven to melt the cheese, abut 2 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a large oven proof skillet and fry the egg. Cook until the egg bottoms are set. Place the skillet in the oven to set the top of the egg whites, about 1 minute.
• When the cheese melt, remove from the oven. Place two slices together to make sandwich. Place each sandwich to an individual plate, and place the egg on top of each sandwich. Pour about ¼ cup of the sauce over the egg, leaving the yolk uncover. Season with salt and black pepper. Garnish with chopped parsley if desire.

Mornay Sauce:

Make ⅔ cup

3 tbs unsalted butter

½ cup diced spanish onion

Kosher salt

3 tbs all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream, as needed

1 bay leaf

3 black peppercorn

3 whole cloves

Freshly grated nutmeg

Freshly ground white pepper

⅓ cup grated Comté or Emmentaler cheese

• Heat butter on a large skillet over medium heat, add onion, and cook until translucent. Sprinkle in the flour, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add milk and cream, whisk until incorporated. Bring to a gently simmer, whisk, add bay leaf, peppercorns, and cloves. 
• Remove the sauce from the heat, add salt and white pepper, taste, and adjust seasoning as needed. 
• Strain the sauce into a clean bowl, add the cheese, and whisk to melt. Use immediately.

Note: The sauce can be store up to a week. If the sauce become to thick after refrigeration, thinned with a little heavy cream. To store, simply place the sauce in a container, press a piece of plastic wrap on the surface to keep skin forming, then refrigerate. 

Interested for the easy brioche recipe?  visit  elra's baking.