Croque Monsieur
Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten

There are two schools of thought behind the croque monsieur. The simplest, most common version of this popular French snack is not that different from your standard-issue American classic, the grilled ham and cheese. But a true croque monsieur requires a béchamel sauce, which is how François Payard does it. (Payard was a pastry chef at some of the world's finest restaurants, including Le Bernardin and Daniel in New York City. He was the owner of Payard Patisserie & Bistro, FP Patisserie, and FP bakery in New York City). His croque monsieur, based on his grandfather's recipe, is layered with jambon de Paris, Swiss Gruyère, and a rich béchamel sauce, encased between slices of toasted white bread, and topped with more béchamel and grated Gruyère. It arrives straight from the oven-the cheese bubbling and golden-brown, melting over the sides of the bread, and with a rich, creamy center.

You will need about 12 ounces total Gruyere cheese (5 cups total - 1/2 cup for the sauce, 4 1/2 cup goes on the sandwich)

Béchamel:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Sandwiches:
16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
Dijon mustard
8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin
4 1/2 cups Gruyere cheese, grated

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.

Makes 8 sandwiches

Croque Madame - Croque Monsieur topped with an egg.

Croque Monsieur
from https://somethingaboutsandwiches.com/

According to the blogger at Something About Sandwiches, for the bread, "You want something sturdy like a Sourdough and slice it fairly thick. You need to create a ‘strong’ sandwich that’ll hold its structure when all the cheese starts to melt." For the sauce, "You’re looking for the sauce to be fairly thick. Too thin and it’ll just seep into the bread and make it soggy. That and it’ll spill out into the pan!" Also, like Payard’s recipe above, he prefers to add the bechamel sauce only to the top of the sandwich which then gets broiled. Instead of baking the sandwich to heat it through and melt the cheese, he butters the bread and grills it like a Grilled Ham & Cheese Sandwich. Once the bread browns and the cheese melts, he puts the bechamel sauce on top and broils it.

He estimates the total calories is 797, assuming 3 slices ham each and 2 tsp butter each, with 432 coming from fat (butter, cheese, sauce). I think two slices of ham and just one of the Swiss cheese would be plenty.

Béchamel Sauce (seems like a lot for topping 2 sandwiches)
1 cup / 240ml Milk, at room temp
1/2 cup / 50g Gruyere, grated
2 tbsp EACH: Flour, Butter
1/8 tsp EACH: White Pepper, Ground Nutmeg
Salt, to taste

Croque Monsieur
4 fairly large slices of Bread, sliced to 1/2" thickness (see notes)
4 - 6 slices of Ham (2-3 slices per sandwich)
4 slices of Swiss Cheese (see notes)
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
Butter, as needed
1/3 cup / 30g freshly grated Parmesan, to top

In a small pot or pan over medium heat melt butter. Stir in flour to form a paste then very gradually pour in milk, whisking as you go to avoid any lumps forming. Stir in salt, white pepper and nutmeg, then stir in gruyere until it fully melts. Remove from heat.

Spread 4 slices of bread with butter, then flip over and spread with a thin layer of dijon mustard. Top 2 of the slices with a slice of cheese, then add 2-3 slices of ham. I recommend folding them in to create a bit of height/texture in the sandwich. Top with more cheese, then add bread mustard-side-down (so both sandwiches are buttered on the outside).

Add the sandwiches to a non-stick pan over low-medium heat. Fry until they turn deep golden on the bottom with the cheese just starting to melt, then flip and fry the other side until golden.

Spread over béchamel sauce (give it a quick stir over heat if you need to loosen it up) then top with a good sprinkling of parmesan. Place under the grill and broil on high until golden and crisp on top.

They’re pretty substantial by themselves, but to make it a full meal I recommend serving them Bistro style with a side salad and fries!

Notes

a) Bread - You want a firm loaf of bread, something like a Sourdough. Some varieties of French bread work well too. Just so the béchamel doesn't cause the sandwich to go soggy! If you've only got very soft bread I recommend toasting one side of each of the slices and face them inwards when you stack the sandwich. That way both sides of the bread is toasted and will offer a bit more stability.

b) Making sure it's cooked right through - Some recipes bake the sandwich to finish it off, but if you're frying fairly low and slow it will cook right through no problem. If you notice the bread darkening too quickly before the cheese starts to melt just lower the heat slightly. Grill/broiling will also help finish off the centre too.

c) Cheese - A lot of stores just call it 'Swiss Cheese', but if you're looking for specifics I recommend Emmental or Leerdammer. Gruyere is an absolute must, so do try and get your hands on some (most supermarkets sell it).

Makes 2 sandwiches