Here's an important question that's always stumped me: What is better than a grilled cheese sandwich? Good news, it took me 30 years—a testament to Kraft singles—but I've recently found an answer: it's a Croque-Monsieur. My best guess for why you're not rushing to make one right now is that it doesn't sound easy. It sounds fussy, French, yada, yada… but know this: your classic grilled cheese is like a movie in SD (perfectly acceptable, by the way), where as a Croque-Monsieur is a high-definition version of a melted cheese sandwich—it's richer; it tingles the taste buds at a higher frequency; and, yes, it's also really easy to make.
How easy? I go to Dominique Ansel for guidance, the man making the best one in New York, although he's not famous for them. He's too famous for inventing the Cronut, the donut-croissant that forced the American donut to take a long look in the mirror and ask, Am I not enough? His Croque-Monsieur may get less press, but it's the most soulful item on his menu. Ansel learned how to make them in a classy kitchen in Paris, where his boss served them for the staff's family meal. That's the kind of recipe this is—sustaining, crowd-pleasing; appropriate at any time of the day as a meal or snack; quick—all the things that turn a sandwich into a staple.
It only takes ten minutes to make his XL Croque-Monsieur: soak bread, layer on béchamel, layer on ham, layer on cheese, layer on bread. Oven. Eat. Burp. Sounds easy, huh? That's the awesome thing about it—the process is as simple as making crudités (another fancy french name for something uncomplicated), but the result is pure sophistication. Now what's better than that?
Dominique Ansel's XL Croque-Monsieur
Makes 1 Sandwich
Ingredients
For the sandwich:
4 slices of gruyere cheese
4 slices of black forest ham
2 slices of sourdough bread
For the custard:
1 cups of milk
1 large egg
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
For the béchamel:
1/4 cup of milk
1 tbsp of butter
3/4 tbsp flour
2 oz grated gruyere cheese
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farhenheit.
For the sandwich:
1. To assemble the sandwich: Dip each slice of bread in the custard. Spread a layer of the béchamel sauce on one slice of bread, add 4 slices of ham, 2 slices of gruyere, top with another slice of bread. On the top, spread another layer of béchamel and finish with 2 more slices of gruyere.
2. Bake in oven for 10 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.
For the custard:
1. In a large bowl, combine a cup of milk and a pinch of nutmeg, whisk in 1 large egg and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let cool in the fridge.
For the béchamel sauce:
1. In a pot, warm the milk (make sure not to boil).
2. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add in the flour and whisk until smooth. Cook for 30 seconds over medium heat until the mixture becomes dough-like.
3. Stream the warm milk into the butter-flour mixture in three increments, whisking continuously until smooth. Let boil for 1 minute.
4. Stir in the shredded gruyere cheese, mixing until the cheese has melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then pour the mixture into a shallow dish, cover in plastic and place in fridge to let cool.
