Croque-Madame Sandwiches!

I am a total sucker for new publications from America's Test Kitchen and Fine Cooking.  A week or two ago I noticed a new Best of Fine Cooking magazine at the check stands, Breakfast & Brunch.  I almost bought it a few different times, but stopped myself because I rarely make breakfast. Something about the morning just doesn't appeal to me (the part where I'm out of my bed), and there isn't enough coffee at Dutch Bros. to combat that feeling.  I will say that I am truly jealous of morning people though.  You guys get so much done before I've even brushed my teeth...



Okay, back to my point.  Breakfast & Brunch - T'was the eve of February the sixteenth, year of our Lord two thousand thirteen.  My husband, #3, #4, and I were at the market to acquire our dinner.  I.was.freaking.starving.  Picked up the mag while we were checking out and saw the recipe for croque-madame sandwiches.  I immediately realized that I had all ingredients (with the exception of the white bread) already at the house.  I turned to my husband as the checker began scanning our items and calmly said, "Go, get some white bread, hurry!"  As I had flashed the photo to him, he quickly acquiesced.

Flash forward to the next morning:

I got all of my ingredients out and got to work!  Step one, make a roux (a simple mixture of fat and flour) as the base for the bechamel sauce.  I followed the recipe for this sauce, but I will tell you how to make a simple base white sauce.  You'll need 2 Tbsp butter, 2 Tbsp flour, and 2 cups whole milk.  Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Add flour and stir continually until the roux develops a nice beige color.

I love this wisk by the way (Kuhn Rikon Silicone Butterfly).  It works amazingly well for roux making, quickly scraping down the entire surface area of the pan and keeping it from burning in any areas.  Here is my roux, looking nice and beige.  At this point you need to add your liquids quickly to prevent burning (you should have them measured out already).  Pour in a continuous stream while whisking with your other hand.  You want to be stirring pretty much continually (otherwise you risk lumping), reaching down to the bottom of the pan until your sauce is thickened.  The process will take roughly 3 minutes, but pay more attention to the characteristics of the sauce than the time.  If it starts bubbling at all, turn the heat down!   Bechamel sauces do need to be babysat, but thankfully they come together really quickly.  Once it is slightly thickened, take the pan off of the heat.  Now you can mix in whatever flavorings you want to add to your sauce: cheese, herbs, worchestershire, etc.  Viola!  Now pour that sauce over some pasta or potatoes or pretty much whatever you want to.

So after I made my sauce, I put together a few gruyere and ham sandwiches, and quickly toasted both sides in a skillet.

Then I transferred the sandwiches to a baking pan, ladeled on some bechamel sauce, topped with grated parmesean, and broiled it until it was golden and bubbly.  While broiling the sandwiches I fried up a couple of sunny-side up eggs, which I topped the sandwiches with after removing from the oven.  Mmmmmmm.  All this, and we were still 10 minutes early to church.  Woot!