Guest Post: Open Faced Croque Monsieurs
Good morning! As some of you know the past week I’ve been in the middle of a very hot and sweaty move. Who moves in 100 degree weather? This girl, that’s who. Ack! But I do see the light at the end of the tunnel-o-boxes. And every box I empty out and break down… I am that much closer to actually parking my car in the garage! So in the meantime I had a dear friend stop by SS to share one of her Phe-NOM-enal recipes. Lauren of Lauren’s Latest has got a great food blog, turning everyday ingredients into nothing short of a masterpiece. And today’s recipe is the perfect example. All I have to say is that when cheese is involved… you can’t go wrong. End of story.
Thanks Lauren for stopping by and helpin’ a girl out! Xo
Well hey ya’ll! I’m Lauren from Lauren’s Latest here to relieve Laurie from blogging duties while she unpacks over at her new house. That poor girl is up to her eyeballs in boxes.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with me and/or my style of cooking, I basically take everyday ingredients and turn them into extraordinary meals. No wasabi powder, caviar or chicken livers coming out of this girl.
Today, I’m sharing with you one of my new favorite dinners that you can have on your table in 15 minutes flat: the Open Faced Croque Monsieurs.
This is one of those oops-I-just-ate-the-whole-pan types of dinners. Warm, creamy, cheesy, and delicious! Here’s how you make them:
Start out by melting some butter in a small pot.
Stir in a little flour and cook about a minute.
It might look a little funky, but it’s totally normal! Promise!
Now we can whisk in some milk and let it thicken up.
After a few minutes, you can add in some salt, pepper, nutmeg
And CHEESE! Raise your hand if you’re a cheese addict! *this is me raising both hands. This is grated gruyere. Stir that in to melt and that’s it!
Now we can assemble the sandwiches.
Take some store bought {or homemade} rolls and slice them in half and place into a baking dish.
Spread on some Dijon. J’aime le grey poupon. Oui oui, I speak le French.
Top with a some deli ham….and then brace yourselves…
Pour that sauce overtop of everything! YUM.
Add a little more cheese if you like and bake until hot and bubbly and lightly browned.
Hello lover.
We all loved these {even my 3 year old!} and think you all will too! Enjoy ☺
Open Faced Croque Monsieurs
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
For the sauce-
2 tablespoons Butter
2 tablespoons Flour
1 ½ cups Milk
1/8 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
Salt & pepper, to taste
1 ¼ cups grated gruyere cheese, divided
4 homemade rolls
¼ cup Dijon mustard
16 thin sliced deli ham
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small pot, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until paste forms. Cook 1 minute, then whisk in milk. Continue stirring until sauce thickens, 5 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, nutmeg and 1 cup of the gruyere cheese. Set aside.
Slice rolls in half and spread Dijon mustard over each half. Place into baking dish. Top with 2 slices deli ham. Pour cheese sauce over top and sprinkle with remaining gruyere cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes until hot and bubbly. Serve.
Over the past few years I’ve been on a mission to find and create recipes that I can make from scratch. I hope you enjoy the recipes on this blog as they are tried and true from my kitchen to yours! (
Looks pretty amazing, Lauren! And Laurie, glad you are loving your new place! What great views you have from FB photos!
simplyscratch replied: — July 10th, 2012 @ 1:27 pm
Thank you Kay! I’m sooo loving it!
Congratulations on the move! I know how much work it can be…lots of cardboard cuts on the hands and misplaced items…but it always ends up coming together. Your croque monsieurs look amazing! Hopefully you were able to take a break from unpacking, plop down on a box and enjoy them.
Hi Laurie- good luck with all of the moving!1 I feel your pain – I had to do a bunch of outside heavy lifting this past weekend helping my mom out. Sweating bullets! Thinking of you!
Hi Lauren! I love Lauren’s Latest and it’s great to see you over here at simply Scratch! Another great recipe… I feel like I could swim in that yummy sauce haha!
simplyscratch replied: — July 10th, 2012 @ 1:27 pm
Ditto on the swimming in the sauce part!
Oh my. I’ll eat anything with a cheesy sauce on top! Hope everything with the move and getting settled is going well!
HaHa… I didn’t even know Laurie and Lauren were pals. I have you both on “My Favorites”! LOVE you guys and your recipes!
Great guest post! I love Lauren! (not in a stalkerish way of course, more of a foodie love
. I can’t wait until the weekend so I can make this for me and Jason. He’s going to be so thrilled!
Nice way to use a Bechemel sauce!
So, I raised both of my hands AND my feet for cheese…does that make me addicted?!?! LOL!
So um, could I just make that sauce and put it on pasta? Or, just eat it with a spoon? It looks soooo good (and of course the sandwiches look amazing too). I may make double the sauce and try it on pasta.
YUMMMM–YAY FOR CHEESE!
OMG these look deadly. Deadly in a has me drooling on my laptop kind of way.