Croque Madame is really just a fancy way to say a grilled ham and cheese with an egg on top – sort of. So you do typically use at least 2 types of cheese (one typically as a sauce or mornay). You also use thicker bread and usually thicker pieces of ham. One thing that makes it difficult to make for the whole family at the same time is the fried eggs. So in an effort to make it easy to serve the crowd – I came up with this Baked Croque Madame recipe.
I went with a smoked gouda cheese slice with honey ham. For the mornay (cheese sauce), I made a parmesan thyme sauce. I also used Texas toast – each slice is about 3/4 of an inch thick. It is usually used for making French Toast. You could also use sourdough bread if you can’t find the Texas Toast.
The real trick to getting this to work for a large group (having all 6 sandwiches be done at the same time) was to combine the super easy and delightful “Egg in a Frame” with the sandwich. And – man! – did it work out great! Depending on how your oven heats – you might want to rotate the pan halfway through cooking to make sure the front sandwiches are getting cooked at the same rate as the back.
I served this with a simple side of Home Fries. I cut Yukon Gold Potatoes into roughly 1-in by 1/2-in squares. Then I put some Avocado Oil (my favorite for frying because of it’s amazing high smoke rate of 500deg) in a medium sized frying pan – only about an inch deep. Fry the potatoes in batches for about 4 minutes each. Remove them to a paper towel covered plate.
Now Let’s Get Cookin’!
Baked Croque Madame
Ingredients
- 12 Thick Bread like Texas Toast
- 6 Eggs
- 1 lb Ham thick-sliced
- 6 slices Provolone Cheese
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese shredded
- 1 tsp Parsely
- 1 stick Butter melted
For the Sauce
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 2 tbsp Flour
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese shredded
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Thyme
Instructions
- Prepare all of the ingredients. Preheat oven to 425deg.
- In a sauce pan over medium heat, add butter for sauce. Once melted whisk in heavy cream. Cook for 3 minutes then add dijon, garlic and thyme. Cook for 2 mintues then add parmesan cheese. Once fully incorporated, reduce heat to medium-low and keep warm until ready to build sandwiches, stirring occasionally.
- Lightly toast each piece of bread (approximately 2 minutes). Brush once side of each piece with melted butter. Using a cup or biscuit cutter, cut a center hole out of 6 slices of bread. (save the circle of bread).
- On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, line up the 6 full slices of toasted bread. Place slice of provolone on each. Next add 2-3 pieces of ham and then ladle sauce over top. Top with hole punched bread slice. Sprinkle with parmesan and parsley. Place in oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and break an egg into each bread whole. Increase oven heat to 500deg. Add circles of bread to baking sheet. Return to oven for 10 more minutes (adjust time for desired doneness of egg, whites should be cooked through and yolk should be runny).
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS
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Now that would make an amazing brunch!! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party. Have a wonderful week!
Yummy!
What a lovely idea – I’ve never heard of this! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm. xo Kathleen
We just love Croque Madame, this looks delicious! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday, 542. Have a great week and come back soon!
Miz Helen
These remind me of home economics but yours’s look so much better! Thanks for sharing at the FWF party.