Croque-Madame

Whenever I go to a French restaurant for lunch and there is a croque-monsieur on the menu, I will order it 50% of the time (I’m getting so mathematical here). Croque-monsieur is just a really good French version of a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. For some reason, I cannot replicate it at home, probably because I am not willing to put so much butter on my bread. If someone else does it for me, that’s another story. Ignorance is bliss, right?

But I ask myself, why have I never ordered a croque-madame (a croque-monsieur with a fried egg on top)? Is it the egg that’s stopping me (I love fried eggs) or is it just my comfort with familiarity?

Alas, I ate my very first croque-madame today. Though unconventional, (I skipped the butter and the béchamel sauce), my sandwich was still delicious! I used comté cheese instead of gruyere (just because that’s what we had in the fridge), and I even added fresh dill on top both for color and flavor. Croque-madame, you definitely put up a good fight against your male counterpart.