Croque Monsieur - Ina Garten "The Barefoot Contessa"

With a few recent trips to the Carriage Trade Cheese Shop in Medford, NJ, what better to make when we have some nice, fresh Gruyere cheese than Croque Monsieur from Ina Garten’s recipe? The recipe itself is easy, and these are some great sandwiches when we’re in the mood for them. That said, I picked up some Boar’s Head turkey, and made these sandwiches tonight. Yes, we prefer these with turkey opposed to ham, but the ham is very pleasant as well, so long as it is good ham.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups hot milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch nutmeg
• 12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups - I actually used 7 different cheeses)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
• Dijon mustard
• 8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin

Directions

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.

Needless to say, the recipe is easy, and these came out nice like always. This is the first time we have made these in the new oven, and they cooked even better, and faster than with our old oven. The new broiler works wonders, and cooks very fast. The cheese came out with some nice color, and was a bit of bubblicious heaven. What is there to say other than gorgeous? So if you are looking for a delicious, quick meal, this is a great option, and one that I figure was worth sharing. Give it a try, and I hope you enjoy it! I know that we did! Cheers! -F. Scott & Zelda

Recipe compliments of FoodNetwork at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/croque-monsieur-recipe/index.html

Lilly's on the Canal - Lamberville, NJ

Sunday lunch at Lilly's on the Canal in Lamberville, NJ today. We haven't been here in year or so, so it was a good day to throw the top down and to head up to Lambertville to enjoy some gorgeous weather. The downstairs at Lilly's was packed when we first arrived, so we were seated upstairs, where we had a nice view out the front windows above the door, as well as a view into the open kitchen where we could see the cooks working hard, but also working very cleanly. Today Zelda ordered the Peppered turkey breast - grilled tomato, sharp cheddar cheese, sauteed peppers and onions with horseradish sauce on marbled rye. This was a good sandwich with good turkey, but the sandwich was very hard to eat because of the thick, toasted rye bread. This sandwich had to be cut into multiple slivers making it easier to eat, and this is the same thing that others were doing as well. . I opted for the Our Cubano - seasoned roasted pork topped with ham, lacey swiss cheese, sweet pickles and roasted garlic dressing, then grilled golden brown on cubano bread.

This was served on a very nice, fresh piece of toasted bread that was very crispy on the outside, yet very soft in the middle. The pork had a nice spice to it, however the ham was a little boring. Sweet pickles garnished the sandwich and they were in the typical tradition of a Cuban sandwich.

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One complaint that we both had was the frosh fries. When they arrived at the table with our sandwiches, they were barely luke warm, and you could tell that they had been sitting for a while. Other than that and the ease at which Zelda's sandwich could be eaten, it was a decent, fast lunch.

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Ambiance in the restaurant is nice, and the service is good. All in all, a nice restaurant with a good view, and the food is just OK. Will revisit again, but not in the immediate future.

Two Canal Street Lambertville, NJ 08530 Phone: (609)397-6242 http://www.lillysgourmet.com/canal.html