Ooh, winter is here and this is when my food cravings go into frenzy. I tend to crave hot, gooey, carbo-loaded food during this time of the year. Recently, my husband has been on a baking kick, making such things as biscotti, poppy-seed muffins, and sugar cookies. But, what I crave the most is the simplest thing, soup and sandwiches. Last week we had the American staple of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, but tonight we are going French. This sandwich, croque monsieur, is a favorite Parisian sandwich. It's quite simple and quite divine. The sandwich itself is very indulgent, so I think Minestrone or even mushroom soup would go well with this. Bon appetit!
INGREDIENTS (makes 4 sandwiches)
- 8 slices of good white bread
- 8 slices of ham (the good kind)
- 2 cups grated Gruyere cheese
- Butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup Crème fraîche*
- Good Dijon mustard (optional)**
Pre-heat oven to 350F degrees.
- In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of grated Gruyere cheese and 1/2 cup crème fraiche. Set aside.
- On 4 slices of bread spread the butter thinly on both sides.
- Sprinkle about 2 tablespoon of the grated cheese, then lay 2 slices of ham on each bread, and then spread the crème fraiche mixture on top of ham, about 2 tablespoons per sandwich.
- Cover with the second slice of buttered bread. **Here, you can spread a little mustard on each slice to give your sandwiches more flavors
- Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet and sprinkle remaining grated cheese on top of each sandwich.
- Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly and a little brown.
1 comment:
I went to Ralph's to get all the ingredients for this sandwich, but they were out of the creme fraiche, so I used the Cacique Mexican creme. It still tasted fantastic and was great with cream of tomato soup, especially on a rainy day like today!
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