Friday, March 2, 2018

A Perfect Day




Recently, a friend and I spent a decadent weekend doing ALL our favorite things...shopping, crafting, eating and watching movies.  We started off the weekend "treasure hunting" at Home Goods/TJ Maxx.  I love it when I find Rae Dunn or other cute pottery and dishes there.  Then we crafted and made a lot of favor boxes using Accucut dies.  The cheese board we made for afternoon snacking filled us up, so we skipped dinner and ended the evening binge-watching Bridget Jones movies.  What a perfect day!  

The next morning, to continue the indulgence, I made Croque Madame for brunch.  There is also a "finger" of banana bread (recipe in this post and a huge latte in the background (Yes, that's a Rae Dunn "Dream." coffee cup).


Croque Madame
3 T unsalted butter
3 T flour
2 c milk (heated)
12 oz Gruyere cheese
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
Nutmeg to taste
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
12 3/4" thick slices bread (I use sliced French bread)
6 T Dijon mustard
12 thin slices baked ham
2 T canola oil
6 eggs

Heat butter over medium-high heat.  Add flour and cook, whisking until smooth, about 1 minute.  Whisk in the heated milk and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer until slightly reduced and thickened, 6 - 8 minutes.  Add 1/2 c grated Gruyere and Parmesan and whisk until smooth.  Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Heat broiler to high.  Place 6 slices bread on a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread 1 T mustard over each.  Top with 2 slices ham and remaining Gruyere.  Broil until cheese begins to melt, 1- 2 minutes.  Top with remaining bread slices, then pour a generous amount of bechamel sauce on top of each sandwich.  Broil until cheese sauce is bubbling, 3 - 4 minutes.

Fry an egg and place on top of each sandwich.


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