Mini Croque Monsieurs Food

MINI CROQUE MONSIEUR

Steps:

• Starting from the bottom of the loaf, slice bread horizontally into six 1/2-inch-thick rectangles (about 4-by-8 1/4-inches each); discard rounded top. Toast each bread slice in a toaster until pale gold.
• Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour. Gradually add milk, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil, continuing to whisk. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan. Let bechamel cool completely. Season with salt and pepper. Divide between 2 bowls.
• Spread half the bechamel from 1 bowl on 1 slice of bread. Top with 2 slices ham and 3 slices Gruyere. Top with 1 slice of bread, then spread remaining bechamel from bowl over top. Set sandwich aside. Repeat layering with ham and Gruyere, and top with 1 slice of bread. Repeat with remaining bowl of bechamel, bread slices, ham, and Gruyere. Wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Trim crusts from sandwiches. Cut each sandwich in half lengthwise, then crosswise 5 times to form 10 rectangles from each. Skewer each sandwich. Transfer to a baking sheet and warm in oven until cheese melts, 6 to 8 minutes. Serve immediately.

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

Steps:

• Make the bechamel. In a small saucepot, heat the milk over medium heat until warm to the touch; set aside. In a separate small saucepot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour, reduce the heat to low and cook, whisking continuously, until the raw flour taste has been cooked out, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the warm milk until smooth. Grate the nutmeg into the bechamel.
• Season the bechamel with salt and bring to a simmer, whisking continuously, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the Gruyere. Whisk the mixture until smooth and set aside.
• Assemble the sandwiches. Heat the broiler on high. Set the bread on a sheet pan and place 3 slices of the ham on each slice of bread. Spoon a thin layer of the bechamel on top of the ham. Divide the Gruyere evenly among the sandwiches and season with pepper. Broil until the cheese melts and turns golden brown, about 3 minutes.

PETITE CROQUE MONSIEURS

Steps:

• Arrange the bread on a baking sheet and spread each slice with 1/2 teaspoon mayonnaise.
• Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Place half (12) of the bread slices, mayonnaise-side down, in the pan and toast until browned, about 3 minutes. Return the toasted bread to the baking sheet, toasted side down, and spread 1 teaspoon mustard on each of the untoasted sides.
• Fold each slice of ham into thirds, as if folding a letter, then cut in half to yield 12 squares. Place the ham squares on top of the mustard.
• Preheat the broiler to high.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until combined; cook until light brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, slowly add the milk and cook until the sauce thickens, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the salt and nutmeg. Add 1 cup shredded Gruyere; whisk until melted and the sauce is smooth, about 1 minute. Remove the Mornay sauce from the heat, spoon 1 tablespoon over each square of ham, and then top with 1 teaspoon of the remaining cheese.
• Broil for 1 minute to melt the cheese and toast the remaining 12 slices of bread (these are the tops of your sandwiches). Remove from the oven. Top the sandwiches with the toasted bread and serve.

MINI SMOKED SALMON SANDWICHES (CROQUE-MONSIEUR)

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter. Stir in flour until completely blended, then cook over moderately hight heat, stirring constantly, until roux is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Bring sauce to boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to moderately low and simmer, whisking often, until no floury taste remains, about 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and let sauce cool, stirring, until very warm. Stir in chopped salmon, Gruyeres, chives, and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper and let sauce cool completely.
• Spread half of the rye slices with a rounded tablespoon of the salmon mixture and close the sandwiches. Repeat with the pumpernickel slices and remaining salmon mixture. Can cover sandwiches with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator overnight, if desired.
• Preheat oven to 400°F In a large shallow bowl, beat eggs thoroughly. Stack 2 or 3 large rimmed baking sheets on one side of the stove.
• In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoons of butter over moderate heat. Dip 8 of the sandwiches in the beaten egg to coat completely, cook the egg-dipped sandwiches over moderately-high heat, turning once, until browned, about 1 minutes per side. Transfer sandwiches to one of the baking sheet, leaving a little space between each one. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches and beaten eggs, using 1 tbsp of butter per batch.
• Reheat sandwiches in the oven for about 8 minutes, until piping hot. Cut sandwiches in half on the diagonal, skewer with small wooden forks and serve hot.
• Sandwiches can be made earlier in the day and reheated.

THE PERFECT CROQUE MONSIEUR

Steps:

• First, make a perfect béchamel sauce. Put the milk, cream, garlic, bay leaves and onion in a small pan over a medium heat and stir together. Heat until nearly boiling, then turn the heat off and leave for 10 mins to infuse. Pass the liquid through a sieve and discard the bay and onion.
• Melt the butter with the flour in another pan and cook over a gentle heat until it smells biscuity. Gradually whisk in the warm milk and bring to a gentle boil, stirring regularly, then add the Dijon mustard, a little grating of fresh nutmeg and some seasoning. It should be a lovely thick creamy sauce with a deep flavour.
• Brush the slices of bread with melted butter. Place them on a baking tray and toast one side under a grill, buttered-side up, until golden. Take them out and heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7.
• Turn the bread over and spread each slice with a thin layer of Dijon, followed by a layer of the béchamel. Cover the sauce with grated gruyère, and then a slice of ham. Form the slices into two sandwiches, spread a thin layer of the sauce over the top slice and sprinkle more gruyère on top. Put the sandwiches in the oven and bake for 10-15 mins or until golden. Mix the mustard and mayo together and serve alongside.

MINI CROQUE-MONSIEUR

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
• Working on a large cutting board, spread the bread slices with butter. Slice off and discard the crusts of the bread (or leave them out to dry for a day and mix in a blender to make bread crumbs). Flip the slices on the cutting board so the buttered slices face down. Divide the cheese among all the slices, top half of the slices with ham, and sprinkle with pepper. Assemble the slices into sandwiches two by two - one with ham, one without - so the exterior faces of each sandwich are buttered. Transfer to the baking sheet.
• Bake for 10 minutes, until the sandwiches are golden on top. Remove the sheet from the oven (leave the heat on). Transfer the sandwiches to the cutting board and let rest for a few minutes, until cool enough to handle. Use a sharp bread knife to cut each sandwich into nine equal squares if the slices are large, four if they are medium. Flip each of the mini-sandwiches as you put them back on the baking sheet, and bake for another 7 minutes, until golden. Let cool for a few minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.