Croque Monsieur Breakfast Casserole Food

CROQUE-MONSIEUR BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees and generously butter a 9-by-13-inch (or 1 1/2- to 2-quart) baking pan. Butter the slices of bread on one side and spread a thin layer of mustard on the other side. Arrange, shingled, over the bottom of the pan, buttered side up; you may not need all the bread. Drape evenly with ham.
• Whisk together milk, half-and-half, egg, egg yolks and pepper. Pour evenly over the bread and ham. Sprinkle with Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses, allowing the ham to peek out in places. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes (for the bread to sop up the milk) or up to overnight. Bake until the custard is set, and the bread and cheese are golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and allow to set 20 minutes before scattering evenly with parsley. Scoop and serve warm or at room temperature, with mustard and cornichons.

CROQUE MONSIEUR

Steps:

• 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.

CROQUE MONSIEUR BRUNCH BAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) baking dish; set aside.
• On baking pan with sides, toss asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange in single layer. Roast in oven 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make béchamel by melting butter in 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Beat in flour with whisk until thick paste forms. Add milk slowly while beating. Add a few sprigs of fresh thyme, the chopped shallot, and salt and pepper to taste. Beat until thickened. Taste, and season as needed.
• Spread béchamel on both sides of bread slices. Place in sprayed baking dish. Layer with prosciutto and asparagus. Follow with more béchamel slathered bread, asparagus and prosciutto to fill the dish. Drizzle with remaining béchamel. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Next morning, heat oven to 350°F. Uncover baking dish, and bake 30 to 45 minutes or until bubbling and golden. Serve immediately with chopped chives.

CROQUE-MONSIEUR

Steps:

• Use 2 tablespoons of the butter to spread over one side of each slice of bread. On three of the slices, spread a layer of Dijon mustard over the butter, and top each with 4 slices of ham. On the other three, spread mayonnaise, and top each one with 2 slices of Swiss cheese. Press ham and cheese sides of sandwiches together.
• In a flat bottomed dish, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, and water until blended. Set aside.
• Heat remaining butter and vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip both sides of each sandwich in the egg mixture, and fry in the oil and butter until browned, flipping to brown on each side.

FRENCH TOAST CROQUE MADAME CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan.
• Whisk together the half-and-half, vanilla, 4 eggs, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large mixing bowl.
• Lay 7 slices of bread in a single layer on a cutting board. Sprinkle 2 heaping tablespoons Gruyere on top of each slice. Top each with 2 slices of ham, folding the ham as needed to fit. Place the remaining 7 slices bread on top to form 7 sandwiches. Cut each sandwich in half diagonally. Dip both sides of each sandwich half into the custard mixture and transfer to the prepared baking pan, arranging in 2 long shingled rows. Pour any remaining custard over the sandwiches and sprinkle the remaining Gruyere on top.
• Spray a large piece of foil with nonstick spray. Place the foil sprayed-side down on top of the baking pan, crimping the sides of the foil around the pan to seal. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the custard is set but still slightly jiggly, about 10 minutes more. Switch the oven to broil and broil until the top is light golden brown, another 3 to 5 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Crack 3 eggs into the pan (it's okay if they run together) and lightly sprinkle with salt. Cook until the whites start to set, 1 to 2 minutes, then cover and continue cooking until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining 3 eggs.
• Divide the casserole among 6 plates, dust with confectioners' sugar, top with the maple syrup or jam if using and finish with a fried egg on top.

DECADENT CROQUE MONSIEUR

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in flour until blended but not colored, about 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
• Assemble sandwiches: Place all 8 bread slices on a work surface in a single layer. Spread each slice evenly to the edges with Bechamel sauce; all the sauce may not be needed. Divide ham evenly between 4 of the bread slices, trimming if necessary so it is within 1/2 inch from the edges. Top all 8 slices with equal amounts of Gruyere cheese, spreading it evenly to within 1/4 inch of the edges.
• Lift the 4 bread slices with sauce and cheese and keeping the cheese facing up, place on top of the slices layered with ham. Transfer sandwiches to the prepared sheet pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese topping is melted and golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

CROQUE MADAME CASSEROLE WITH HAM AND GRUYèRE

Steps:

• Arrange racks in top and middle of oven; preheat to 375°F. If bread is not a day old or still feels moist, arrange slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake, flipping once, until dry to the touch but not toasted, 5-10 minutes. Using a 2" ring or cookie cutter or sharp paring knife, cut a hole in the center of 6 bread slices. Trim bread to fit in 2 even layers in a 13x9" baking dish, with the whole slices on the bottom and the slices with holes on the top, forming 6 sandwiches. Remove from dish.
• Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until butter foams then subsides (make sure it doesn't brown), and mixture is light gold and thickened, about 3 minutes. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, whisking, until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, 4-6 minutes. Reduce heat to very low. Whisk in nutmeg, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper into the Béchamel sauce. Whisk in 1 cup Gruyère a handful at a time, making sure cheese is melted before adding more. (Béchamel with cheese added is technically called a Mornay sauce.) You should have about 3 1/2 cups of sauce.
• Spread one-third of the Béchamel in the dish. Arrange 6 whole slices of bread in a single layer in dish. Spread Dijon evenly on bread. Top each with 2 slices of ham, folding to fit on bread if necessary.
• Spread another third of the Béchamel over ham. Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup Gruyère. Place 6 bread slices with holes on top to form 6 sandwiches. Spread remaining Béchamel over sandwiches; sprinkle with 1 cup Gruyère (avoid holes to save room for eggs).
• Crack 1 egg into each hole. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Gruyère. Season with remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper.
• Spray a large piece of foil with nonstick spray. Place foil, oiled side down, over baking dish, crimping to seal. Bake on middle rack for 20 minutes. Remove foil, increase oven temperature to 400°F, transfer dish to top rack, and bake until egg whites are just barely set and yolks are still runny (eggs will continue to cook slightly when removed from oven), 8-12 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

BAKED CROQUE MONSIEUR

Steps:

• Butter a 9x13-inch baking pan.
• Remove the crust from the bread, if you wish. Place them into the greased baking dish, cutting slices in half, as necessary, to completely cover the bottom of the pan.
• Top with half of the cheese, the ham, sliced onion, and the remaining cheese; and the remaining bread.
• Press the sandwiches together.
• Beat the eggs, milk and seasoning together. Pour slowly over the bread.
• Cover and place in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
• About 1 hour before serving, preheat the oven to 400ºF. Mix the breadcrumbs with the melted butter and grated cheese. Sprinkle over the sandwiches.
• Bake for 42 to 48 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the eggs set.
• Remove from the oven and allow to rest 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

CROQUE MONSIEUR BAKE (NIGELLA LAWSON)

Steps:

• Spread the mustard on the bread slices and make sandwiches with the fine slices of cheese and ham; place each slice of cheese against the mustardy bread, and the ham between them.
• Make the sandwich and cut each one in half, making two triangles.
• Squish the sandwiches into a baking dish, approx 10 ½ inches x 8 ¼ inches and 2 ¼ inches deep.
• Beat the eggs, salt, and milk together; then pour over the sandwiches tightly packed into the dish.
• Cover the dish with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator overnight.
• In the morning, preheat oven to 400°; take the dish out of the refrigerator and remove plastic wrap.
• Sprinkle over the grated cheese and Worcestershire sauce; bake for 25 minutes.

'CROQUE MONSIEUR' RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat broiler.
• Broil bread, 6 inches from heat, 30 sec. or until toasted; turn.
• Spread with cream cheese spread; top with ham and Swiss cheese.
• Broil 30 sec. or until Swiss cheese is melted.