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Quick Croque Monsieur

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on November 9, 2011

Time

30 minutes

Yield

Serves 4

Quick Croque Monsieur

Ingredients

3 tablespoons softened butter 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 cup whole milk 2 ½ cups shredded Gruyère cheese (see Test Kitchen Discovery, above)Salt and pepper 8 slices hearty white sandwich bread 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 6 ounces thinly sliced deli ham

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk and simmer until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in ½ cup cheese, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cover and keep warm.
  2. Spread remaining butter over 4 slices of bread. Arrange, buttered-side down, on rimmed baking sheet. Spread each slice with mustard, then divide ham, 1 cup cheese, and ½ cup sauce over mustard-topped slices and top with remaining bread. Top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake until cheese is golden brown and bubbling, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve.
Quick Croque Monsieur

Quick Croque Monsieur

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

30 minutes

Yield

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 tablespoons softened butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
2 ½ cups shredded Gruyère cheese (see Test Kitchen Discovery, above)
Salt and pepper
8 slices hearty white sandwich bread
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
6 ounces thinly sliced deli ham

Ingredients

3 tablespoons softened butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
2 ½ cups shredded Gruyère cheese (see Test Kitchen Discovery, above)
Salt and pepper
8 slices hearty white sandwich bread
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
6 ounces thinly sliced deli ham

Ingredients

3 tablespoons softened butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
2 ½ cups shredded Gruyère cheese (see Test Kitchen Discovery, above)
Salt and pepper
8 slices hearty white sandwich bread
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
6 ounces thinly sliced deli ham

Why This Recipe Works

Tasters preferred gruyère—a Swiss cow’s milk cheese with a nutty flavor—in our Quick Croque Monsieur. However, we found we could use deli Swiss if gruyère was unavailable. Instead of cooking one or two sandwiches at a time in a skillet, we used a rimmed baking sheet and a hot oven to cook four sandwiches simultaneously.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk and simmer until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in ½ cup cheese, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cover and keep warm.
  2. Spread remaining butter over 4 slices of bread. Arrange, buttered-side down, on rimmed baking sheet. Spread each slice with mustard, then divide ham, 1 cup cheese, and ½ cup sauce over mustard-topped slices and top with remaining bread. Top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake until cheese is golden brown and bubbling, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve.

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