Croque Madame

Croque Madame~

A croquet madame is a variation on the croque-monsieur, a French twist on grilled ham and cheese. Instead of dipping the sandwich in egg before sautéeing in butter (as you would for a croque-monsieur), grill the sandwich first and top with homemade cheesy béchamel Sauce, cheese, and sunny-side up egg. But here I used beef instead of ham :) :)

Ingredients of croquet madame:

• 2 slices of white bread,
• 4 slices of grilled beef steaks,
• 2 slices of emmental cheese,
• 1 tablespoon of shredded emmental cheese,
• 5 tablespoons of butter,
• 4 tablespoons of flour,
• 4 cups of milk,
• salt and pepper to taste,
• ½ teaspoon of nutmeg,
• ½ teaspoon of whole mustard grain; ground.

Directions of croquet madame:

1. Sauté the beef on a grill pan and cook on ‘medium rare’ keeping a warm center.
2. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to rest. Once cooled, finely slice the steak.
3. Apply mustard onto the bread. Place a slice of cheese on each slice of bread and sandwich it which the beef slice in the center.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and fry the sandwich until golden on both sides.

Directions for béchamel sauce of croquet madame:

1. Heat the remaining butter with flour to make a roux.
2. Whisk in the hot milk and continue to stir on medium heat until the sauce thickens and smooth.
3. Season it with salt pepper and nutmeg. Simmer for a further ten minutes. 
4. Place the sandwich in an ovenproof dish and pour the béchamel sauce over.
5. Sprinkle grated cheese and bake until cheese is melted and golden on top.
6. Now serve and enjoy :) :)