Croque Monsieurs

In December, I blogged about making French onion soup.  I was worried that soup might not be enough for dinner, so I made croque monsieurs to go along with the soup.  Croque monsieurs are French sandwiches that can be found at nearly every French cafe (they are served in Birmingham at Chez Fonfon).  They are similar to Monte Cristos that I've posted about before.  I remember having my first croque monsieur in my high school French class.  There are many variations of the croque monsieur, most notably the croque madame (a croque monsieur with a fried or poached egg on top).  They can be really simple but can also be "done up" a little fancier, like this recipe topped with a mornay sauce that comes from Ina Garten. 

Croque Monsieur
Ingredients:

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.

Spinach and Cream Cheese Sandwiches

My mom and aunts always made these sandwiches and used similar ingredients to make my favorite dip when I was growing up.  I've started making these sandwiches to take to parties - they're great for showers and for weekends at the lake.  The extra spinach/cream cheese mixture is great with crackers!

Spinach and Cream Cheese Sandwiches
Ingredients:
1 pkg cream cheese (8 oz)
4 tbsp grated onion
1 box frozen spinach (thaw, drain, and squeeze out water)
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup mayonnaise
bread

Directions:
Cream the creamed cheese. Add mayonnaise, onion, lemon juice, and spinach. Cut the bread into circles or triangles. Use the mixture as filling for the sandwiches.

Fried Green Tomatoes

I wanted to post this recipe immediately following my last post on eggs benedict.  One of my favorite spins on eggs benedict involves replacing the fillet used in the previous post with a fried green tomato - trust me, it's amazing!  I've used this recipe by Paula Deen before, and I was not disappointed!  Of course, fried green tomatoes also make a wonderful side dish all on their own or can be substituted for traditional tomatoes in a BLT.

Fried Green Tomatoes
Ingredients:
3 or 4 large firm green tomatoes
Salt
2 cups vegetable or peanut oil, for deep-frying
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups self-rising flour

Directions:
Slice the tomatoes 1/4-inch thick. Lay them out in a shallow baking pan and sprinkle with salt. Place the tomato slices in a colander and allow time for the salt to pull the water out of the tomatoes, approximately 30 minutes. In a skillet, heat the oil for deep-frying over medium high heat. Dip the tomatoes into buttermilk, then dredge them in flour. Deep-fry until golden brown. Keep warm.

Open-faced Tian Sandwich

I got the idea for this recipe from a sandwich cookbook (Nancy Silverton's Sandwich Book), but I changed some of the ingredients and preparation instructions to give it more flavor and make it easier to cook properly. I first made a tian when I was studying abroad in Arles, France. We stayed at a cooking school and studied the local foods and recipes of Provence. Making a tian can be very time-consuming, but yields a wonderful result! A tian, similar to a casserole, is both the name of the dish used for baking and the food inside the dish. The dish is usually a large rectangular earthenware dish - the food is a layered vegetable gratin (see picture). So, to make this sandwich, I layered the vegetables on slices of sourdough bread and then baked the bread and vegetables in a tian in the oven. I loved how it turned out - the flavors were amazing! I will definitely be making this again, even though it took several hours to put together! This is a great summer sandwich!

Open-faced Tian Sandwich
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, cut in half through the root and sliced into 1/8 inch-thick slices
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1-2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, sliced into 1/8 inch-thick rounds
2 crookneck yellow squashes, sliced into 1/8 inch-thick rounds (don't use the skinny parts)
2 or 3 ripe Roma tomatoes, sliced into 1/8 inch-thick rounds
4 tablespoons of your favorite tapenade or pesto
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
4-6 slices of fresh sour dough bread
Freshly grated Parmesean

Directions:
In a small skillet, combine 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the onions, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper. Saute over medium-high heat, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes. When the onions begin to turn color, add a splash or so of water to deglaze the bottom of the pan and prevent them from burning. Continue cooking over medium heat about 20 minutes more, until the oinons are very soft and evenly caramelized. Stir in the sherry, and remove from heat.

As the onions are cooking, heat a small skilled over medium high heat. Place the peppers, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Saute these ingredients for about 20 minutes, stirring constantly, until they are soft and tender.

Add the caramelized onions to the peppers, stir in 1/8 teaspoon of pepper, and remove from heat. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brush the bottom of a large baking dish (stoneware or glass will work best) with a little olive oil. Spread the tapenade or pesto evenly over the bread slices. Place them close together in the baking dish. Distribute the onion and pepper mixture over each slice.

At one end of the bread, place a round of yellow squash over the onion and pepper mixture. Then, place a tomato slice next to the squash, overlapping it about an inch. Follow the same procedure with a slice of the zucchini. Continue layering these ingredients until you reach the end of the bread slice - include as many vegetable pieces on each slice as possible!

Brush the vegetables with the remaining olive oil. Distribute the garlic, thyme leaves, and remaining salt over the vegetables. Cover the baking dish with foil and cook for one hour. Remove the foil and cook for 30 minutes more. The vegetables should be wrinkled and lightly browned - the salt pulls the liquid out of the vegetables so they will flatten out some on the bread. The longer you cook this dish, the better the flavors become! As soon as you take the dish out of the oven, sprinkle with Parmesan so that it melts. Serve warm. These sandwiches will easily reheat in the oven to make great leftovers!

Monte Cristo Sandwich

Kent and I went to dinner last night with our friends, Kate and Lee. Kent and I both ordered Monte Cristo sandwiches that were so good! We were all talking about making them at home, and I remembered that I made some last Spring. This is the recipe (from about.com) that I used - but I adjusted it for two sandwiches! Also, I think I only used two slices of bread for each sandwich instead of three. Kate and Lee suggest using a thick white bread, like Pepperidge Farm.

Monte Cristo Sandwiches
18 slices bread
butter
6 slices ham
6 slices turkey or chicken
12 slices Swiss or Gruyere cheese
a little mustard and mayonnaise, if desired
3 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation:
For each sandwich use 3 slices of bread. Butter one side of bread first, then cover with a slice of ham and a slice of turkey or chicken. Butter both sides of the second slice of bread and spread with a little mustard or other dressing, if desired. Place on top of turkey or ham slice and top with 2 thin slices of cheese. Butter third slice for top; press sandwich lightly and trim crusts. Cut into halves diagonally and secure with toothpicks.
Beat eggs with milk and salt. Dip sandwich halves into the egg mixture and fry on a hot skillet or griddle in butter or margarine. Brown on all sides, adding more butter when necessary. Remove toothpicks before serving.Makes 6 sandwiches, 12 cut triangles, to serve 4.

There are a lot of ways to make these unique: dip in syrup/sprinkle with sugar, dip in a dressing/mustard/sauce/jelly, add pickles, or even serve with a fried egg on top!

Ham and Cheese Rolls

This is a great dish for football parties! It might be hard take to a tailgate since it is best served warm - but it would be wonderful when having guests to your house. I even made these for dinner one night, and then Kent and I took the left-overs for lunch the next day.

Ham and Cheese Rolls
Ingredients:
1 lb. deli ham, sliced
1 lb. Swiss cheese, sliced
1 pkg. cooked dinner rolls
1 stick butter
1 1/2 tbsp. poppy seed
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp. mustard
1 tbsp. minced onions

Method:
Split rolls in half. Place a slice of ham and a slice of cheese on each roll - replace top. Place in 13x9 inch baking dish. Melt butter and add all remaining ingredients except poppy seed. Pour over rolls and sprinkle with poppy seed. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. For crusty rolls, remove foil.

Possible alterations:
1) Instead of pouring the mixture on top of the rolls, you could mix the ingredients to create a paste and spread it on the inside of the rolls.
2) You could also use bagels instead of rolls to make it perfect for a brunch!