Croque madame
A toasty ham and Gruyère sandwich blanketed in creamy béchamel, baked until bubbling and crowned with a runny fried egg.
- 35 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 2
- About $2.86 a serving
- 780 calories
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 2½ tbsp butter, divided
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 cup Swiss cheese, Gruyère, grated, divided
- 4 slices sourdough bread
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 4 oz sliced deli ham
- 2 large eggs
From your pantry
- 1½ tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
Each serving has about 780 calories, 43 g protein, 56 g carbs and 42 g fat, and costs about $2.86 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No sourdough bread? French bread works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 425°F and line a with .
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Parchment paper. Parchment paper is a nonstick, oven-safe paper for lining pans. Food lifts right off and cleanup is easy, but don’t swap in wax paper or put parchment under the broiler.
How you’ll know: It lies flat in the pan, and the food slides off when you lift it.
1½ tablespoons of the butter in a small over medium, whisk in the flour, and let it bubble 1 minute, .
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Pour in the milk a little at a time, the whole time, then keep whisking 3 to 4 minutes, until it’s as thick as pudding. Take it off the heat and stir in the nutmeg, salt, pepper and ¼ cup of the cheese.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Lumps come from adding milk too fast. If you get some, whisk hard off the heat and they’ll smooth out.Lay 2 slices of bread on the pan, spread them with mustard, and top each with half the ham and ¼ cup of the cheese. Close with the other bread.
Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
Spread the sauce over the tops, right to the edges, and sprinkle on the last of the cheese.
10 to 12 minutes, until bubbling, then switch to for 1 to 2 minutes, until browned in spots.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Broil. Broiling means cooking under the oven’s top heating element, with strong heat from above. It browns and crisps the top in minutes, and it can burn fast, so stay close.
How you’ll know: The top bubbles and spots golden brown; check every minute and pull it before it blackens.
Timer: 11 min
Dolly’s tip: Stay right by the oven while it broils. It goes from golden to burnt in seconds.While it bakes, the last tablespoon of butter in a nonstick over medium and fry the eggs 3 to 4 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks still soft.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Food safety: Soft yolks are a small risk. If you’re pregnant, or cooking for small children or older people, cook the eggs until the yolks are firm, or use pasteurized eggs.
Slide an egg onto each sandwich and eat with a knife and fork.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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