Quick Croque Monsieur Recipe

cookscountry.com
April 29, 2012

Why this recipe works:

Tasters preferred gruyère—a Swiss cow’s milk cheese with a nutty flavor—in our Quick Croque Monsieur. However, we found we could use deli Swiss if gruyère was unavailable. Instead of cooking one or two sandwiches at a time in a skillet, we used a rimmed baking sheet and a hot oven to cook four sandwiches simultaneously.

Ingredients

3	tablespoons softened butter
2	tablespoons all-purpose flour
1	cup whole milk
2½	cups shredded Gruyère cheese
	Salt and pepper
8	slices hearty white sandwich bread
2	tablespoons Dijon mustard
6	ounces thinly sliced deli ham

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk and simmer until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in ½ cup cheese, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cover and keep warm.

2. Spread remaining butter over 4 slices of bread. Arrange, buttered-side down, on rimmed baking sheet. Spread each slice with mustard, then divide ham, 1 cup cheese, and ½ cup sauce over mustard-topped slices and top with remaining bread. Top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake until cheese is golden brown and bubbling, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve.