Croque Madame
Ingredients
To assemble the sandwiches:
Set half of the slices of bread buttered side down, and cover them with the cheese slices, folding them back in toward the middle if they extend past the edges of the bread. Place 3 or 4 slices of the ham in an even layer over the cheese, and place the top slice of bread over the ham, buttered side up.
Grill the sandwiches in a two-sided grill or on a heavy-bottomed pan, using clarified butter and turning once. Place on serving plates.
To fry the eggs:
Crack two eggs into two separate bowls to check that the yolks aren’t broken. In 2 6-inch non-stick skillets, melt half of the butter over medium-high heat, until it starts to bubble. Pour 1 egg into each pan, being careful not to break the yolks. Add a teaspoon of water to each pan, sprinkle the eggs with fleur de sel, and cover the pans with lids. Cook the eggs for about 3 minutes for a soft-cooked egg and 5-6 minutes if you like your eggs firm. Wipe out the skillets, and fry the other 2 eggs in the remaining butter in the same manner. Center a fried egg over each of the grilled sandwiches and sprinkle with pepper.
Last summer, my family and I went to Paris and while we were there I tried the most amazing meal called Croque Madame. I ended up eating this exact me 4 times while we were there. It is such a simple meal, basically just ham and cheese on toasted bread with an egg on top, but somehow French ham and cheese on toasted bread taste better than ours here in Alabama. I first tried this while eating at a small café close to our hotel. After that, I was hooked. Every café we went to I would look for Croque Madame on the menu. If the restaurant had it, I ordered it. By the end, of our trip I got my entire family to order it and they became as obsessed as I was.
- 8 slices white or whole-wheat sourdough bread
- 8 ounces Gruyère cheese, sliced into 24-32 1/16-inch-thick slices
- 12 ounces smoked ham, such as Black Forest, sliced into 12-16 1/16-inch-thick slices
- 4 extra-large eggs
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Fleur de sel or kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
To assemble the sandwiches:
Set half of the slices of bread buttered side down, and cover them with the cheese slices, folding them back in toward the middle if they extend past the edges of the bread. Place 3 or 4 slices of the ham in an even layer over the cheese, and place the top slice of bread over the ham, buttered side up.
Grill the sandwiches in a two-sided grill or on a heavy-bottomed pan, using clarified butter and turning once. Place on serving plates.
To fry the eggs:
Crack two eggs into two separate bowls to check that the yolks aren’t broken. In 2 6-inch non-stick skillets, melt half of the butter over medium-high heat, until it starts to bubble. Pour 1 egg into each pan, being careful not to break the yolks. Add a teaspoon of water to each pan, sprinkle the eggs with fleur de sel, and cover the pans with lids. Cook the eggs for about 3 minutes for a soft-cooked egg and 5-6 minutes if you like your eggs firm. Wipe out the skillets, and fry the other 2 eggs in the remaining butter in the same manner. Center a fried egg over each of the grilled sandwiches and sprinkle with pepper.
Last summer, my family and I went to Paris and while we were there I tried the most amazing meal called Croque Madame. I ended up eating this exact me 4 times while we were there. It is such a simple meal, basically just ham and cheese on toasted bread with an egg on top, but somehow French ham and cheese on toasted bread taste better than ours here in Alabama. I first tried this while eating at a small café close to our hotel. After that, I was hooked. Every café we went to I would look for Croque Madame on the menu. If the restaurant had it, I ordered it. By the end, of our trip I got my entire family to order it and they became as obsessed as I was.