Cleaning out the fridge ahead of a recent trip made me realize that I had all of the ingredients for a Croque Madame. Despite never making or ordering one before, I was drawn to this hearty bistro fare. The recipe from Fifteen Spatulas served as a guide for this new creation that will definitely become a regular in (winter) rotation of comfort food.

Croque Madame

Bechamel:

• 2 T. butter
• 2 T. flour
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 c. shredded Gruyere
• Salt

Sandwhich:

• 8 slices of hearty white bread, like a boule
• 1/2 lb. of sliced country ham
• 6 oz. shredded Gruyere
• 2 T. Dijon
• 4 T. softened butter
• 4 eggs

1. Over medium heat, melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to create your roux.
2. Slowly stir in milk, and stir until roux is dissovlved and sauce is thickened, about 7 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and mix in Gruyere until melted. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
4. Set sauce aside and assemble four sandwhiches.
5. Spread outsides of sandwiches with a bit of soft butter.
6. Spread insides of sandwiches with ~1 tsp. of Dijon mustard on one side and 1 T. Bechamel on the other.
7. Add several slices of ham and 2 oz. of Gruyere.
8. Close sandwhich.
9. Over medium-high heat, toast each side of the sandwich until golden brown.
10. Place sandwiches on baking tray. Top each sandwich with ~2T. of Bechamel sauce.
11. Broil sandwhiches until the tops are brown and bubbly.
12. Keeping a careful watch on the broiler, in the same pan that the sandwiches were fried, crack each of the four eggs and lightly fry. Aim to keep the yolks in tact so the egg can be lifted onto the sandwich for a Madam worthy finish.