Mister Crunchy aka Croque Monsieur Sammys

We wanted a quick dinner last night so I made these delicious French sandwiches. I found the recipe here on Simply Recipes. These sandwiches are great because you could modify them to be anything you wanted. Don't like ham? Use turkey, or no meat at all! Don't like Gruyère cheese? Use shredded cheddar or any cheese that you like... Its really all up to your preferences but the béchamel sauce and the broiling make it so yummy. The other great thing about this recipe is that it takes about 15 minutes.

Prep Time:

- 10 minutes to slice the ham (unless you buy deli meat, which works just fine) and slice the bread

- 10 minutes (or less) of cooking

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 1/2 cups milk

A pinch each of salt, freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, or more to taste

6 ounces Gruyère Cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups grated)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (packed)

8 slices of French or Italian loaf bread

12 ounces ham, sliced

Dijon mustard

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Make the béchamel sauce. Melt butter in a small saucepan on medium/low heat until it just starts to bubble. Add the flour and cook, stirring until smooth, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking continuously, cooking until thick. **slowly means slowly. I just dumped it in there this time and it was far too liquid-y and never set up the way it was supposed to be. It still tasted great but you want it to be thick**

3. Remove from heat. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the Parmesan and 1/4 cup of the grated Gruyère. Set aside. Nutmeg tastes fantastic with cheese and with dijon, so don't skip it. That being said, add a little and try it and then adjust the spices if you want more.

4. Lay out the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven, a few minutes each side, until lightly toasted. For extra flavor you can spread some butter on the bread slices before you toast them if you want. (I skipped the butter, with all of the cheese my heart was all set with cholesterol)

5. Lightly brush half of the toasted slices with mustard. Add the ham slices and about 1 cup of the remaining Gruyère cheese. Top with the other toasted bread slices.

6. Spoon on the béchamel sauce to the tops of the sandwiches. Sprinkle with the remaining

Gruyère cheese. Place on a broiling pan. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, then turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Here is a picture of those beauties going into the oven. See how my béchamel sauce was runny and ran onto the pan? That is why you don't add the milk all at once, slowly means slowly!

Basically, this is a lovely grown-up grilled cheese. I served it with spicy sweet potato fries (have you tried them? They are by Alexia foods...SO good!) because thats what we had in the freezer. I think asparagus would taste good with it or brussel sprouts if Chris could tolerate them. Yes, I took a bite out of the sandwich before I could even take a picture. Who could resist?!