Croque Monsieur

A couple of weeks ago, I managed to talk James into watching a chick-flick. Usually that requires some sort of compromise...like watching a D grade horror flick. Fortunately, we both thought "It's Complicated" was pretty decent. After promising to make croque monsieur (thanks Meryl Streep!) I think it's safe to say I won't be watching "Chainsaw Massacre." This seriously rich meal won't cut it for a weekly regular, but when you've earned an indulgence, this is it.

The two most important ingredients: Gruyere and ham.

Key to a balanced diet: cheese, cured meat, cheese, bread and most importantly, cheese.

Add a salad, it will make your mom happy.

Adapted from Ina Garten:

Ingredients
(quarter recipe for 2 servings) nocoupons

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups hot milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch nutmeg
• 12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
• Dijon mustard
• 8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan and set aside.

To toast the bread, place the slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.

Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyere. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.

English Muffins

I've always been fascinated by recreating certain dishes or items I would usually buy from the grocery store or order from a restaurant. It usually comes in the form of a baked good. Every weekend, without a doubt, there's one morning that I'll toast an English muffin and top it with an over-easy egg. Even though it's not a gourmet breakfast, it takes a little more effort than the usual, Monday morning cereal. To make it feel a bit more like a luxurious Saturday morning breakfast, I decided to take a stab at English muffins.

Like any other worth while bread, it starts with a lot of waiting for the dough to rise and deflate.

Next, the dough is separated into the individual muffins, rolled in corn meal and left to rise again.

The most important step: brown in a pan until golden brown and admire.

Pop in the oven for 5-8 minutes and prepare your egg.

Recipe from Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Located via Pete.

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 Tbsp shortening or butter (at room temperature)
3/4 – 1 cup milk (at room temperature)
cornmeal for sprinkling

1. in a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. mix in the shortening and 3/4 cup of the milk. add the remaining milk if the dough is too dry.

2. transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. place in a lightly oiled bowl and roll to coat. cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour. divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and shape into balls. lay parchment paper on a baking sheet and spray or lightly coat with oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. move the dough balls to the baking sheet evenly spaced apart (giving them room to rise more). cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and allow them to rise for another hour.

*I added a 1/4C flax seed to mine which gave it more of a nutty flavor. Next up: cinnamon and raisins.

3. heat the oven to 350 F and heat up a skillet on medium heat on the stove top. brush the skillet with oil and gently transfer the dough balls to the skillet a few at a time. allow them to cook on the skillet for 5-8 minutes, until the bottoms are nicely browned. carefully flip and cook the other side for about 5-8 minutes more. they should flatten as they cook.

4. when the muffins look as if they are about to burn, remove them from the skillet with a spatula and transfer quickly to a baking sheet. bake at 350 for 5-8 minutes. do not wait until all of the muffins have been cooked on the skillet before moving them to the oven – as the first batch is baking, move the second batch of muffins to the skillet.

5. transfer the baked muffins to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing or serving. serve with lots of butter and jelly. store them as you would muffins you buy in the store – in a sealed ziploc bag in the fridge or freezer.

I added flax to these but I'll definitely be throwing in some raisins and cinnamon to the next batch.