Croque Monsieur

Sometimes, its really hard to get out of bed. Especially now that the days are getting sooooo cold! But one thing that always works (for me) is the thought of a hot hearty breakfast. :D It also helps that I wake up hungry, hoho. I usually stick with the usual, such as toast, or maybe Indomie or Nasi Goreng, if I'm feeling really rajin (hardworking) but today, I decided to go exotic and make a Croque Monsieur, which is a sandwich (originating from France) that has ham and cheese and is grilled. I found it it one of my cookbooks and was been really tempted to make it, hehe. So, here we go!

What you need:
100g Gruyere or Emmenthal cheese, grated (I only had Cheddar cheese available, phoo~)
4 slices white bread, with the crusts trimmed
2 slices of meat (it says ham, but I used chicken salami instead)
1 small egg, beaten
40g unsalted butter, for frying

White sauce:
30g unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sunflower oil
1/2 tablespoon plain flour
125 ml warm milk
White pepper

What you do:

1. Spread half the grated cheese on 2 slices bread, then top each with a slice of meat, cut to fit. Sprinkle with all but 2 tablespoons of the remaining cheese, then add the top slices of bread and press down.
2. To make the white sauce, melt the butter with the oil in a small heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and stir around for 1 minute to cook out the raw taste. Take the pan off the heat and pour in the milk, stirring constantly. Return the pan to the heat and continue stirring for a minute or so until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remaining cheese and pepper to taste, then set aside and keep warm.
3. Beat the egg in a soup plate or other flat bowl. Add 1 sandwich and press down to coat on both sides, then remove from the bowl and repeat with the other sandwich.
4. Preheat the grill to high. Line a baking tray with foil and set asude. Melt the butter for frying in a frying pan over medium high-heat and fry 1, or both, sandwiches, depending on the size of your pan. Add a little extra butter, if necessary, if you have to fry the sandwiches separately.
5. Transfer the sandwiches to the foil-lined baking tray and spread the white sauce over the top. Place under the grill, about 10 cm from the heat, and grill for 4 minutes until golden and brown.

We don't have a grill-suitable baking tray, unfortunately, so I used my toaster oven instead, hehe. Also, Hovis makes this amazing bread with "invisible" crusts, so I didn't bother trimming them off either. Apart from the salami and cheese, those are the only modifications I made to the recipe ;) Yes, I know, that's quite a lot, hehe.

I make a cheese and salami sandwich quite often, but this was a rather nifty dish to try, I thought. But partly because of the white sauce, and partly because our house is just SOOOOO humid, my bread turned out a little soggy :( I might try toasting it very lightly first next time. But but but! That didn't detract from the taste at all! There was a hint of egg, which was nice, but the white sauce was amazing! So cheesy, with lots of white pepper, ah~ *drool* I want more now, hehe. The whole thing was really very creamy and cheesy and oh so good! Hadi took half my sandwich without any urging, heh.

At first I wasn't sure if it would photograph well enough, but it looks quite good, I think. Just look at the melted cheese oozing out, and the creamy white sauce~ And it wasn't all that difficult to make either :D Definitely a great breakfast to start my day, hehe~

Quote of the day: All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.