Rachael Ray’s Croque Monsieur

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, salted
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup half-and-half or 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 8 slices bread
• 3/4 lb baked ham, thinly sliced (virginia ham is good)
• 2 cups shredded gruyere cheese

Recipe

• 1 heat a large pan or griddle over med-low to medium heat.
• 2 heat a small saucepan over medium heat; add in 2 tablespoons butter and melt.
• 3 whisk flour into butter and cook 1 minute; then whisk in the half-and-half.
• 4 add in dijon mustard, nutmeg, salt, and pepper; cook for 2 minutes to thicken; remove from heat.
• 5 spread bread slices with the sauce and make sandwiches, using a couple of folded slices of ham per sandwich.
• 6 spread the remaining 2 tablespoons butter lightly across the outside faces of each sandwich.
• 7 spread the shredded cheese across a plate and gently press each side of the sandwiches into the cheese, then place on the hot pan or griddle.
• 8 the cheese will brown and form a crisp coating as the sandwich cooks and heats through.
• 9 cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until evenly golden.