Croque monsieur

Last night, I had no desire to cook dinner so I decided to make some Croque Monsieur, which are basically ham and cheese melted sandwiches. With the help of my girls, we started an "assembly line" and dinner was ready in 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

12 slices of bread
6 slices of ham
6 slices of cheese
1/2 cup grated emmenthal cheese
1 cup white sauce (recipe below)

To assemble the sandwiches, just layer one slice of bread, then the ham and cheese and the other slice of bread.

While my daughters were assembling the sandwiches, I was preparing the white sauce.

On top of sandwiches, pour a dollop of white sauce and the emmental cheese.

Stick it in the broiler oven at 350° for 20 min and dinner is ready!

To prepare the white sauce:

In a pan, add the butter, cold milk, cornstarch and seasonings and stir until all the cornstarch has disolved. Then for the next 10-15 min boil in very low heat, stirring constantly.


Tips for the white sauce:

If you get lumps, just stir vigorously until they disappear.

If it's not thick enough, in a cup, add 4 tablespoons cold milk with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and stir until it has disolved. Then add it straight to the pot and keep on stirring (at low heat) until it thickens.

If you don't have cornstarch, you can substitute for all-purpose flour.

Creamed spinach

My girls don't like spinach, obviously since it's a green vegetable, which for them translates into "something to avoid eating at all costs". However, my younger one helped me with the white sauce, so after I blended it, she agreed to taste it and amazingly she liked not. Her sister decided to pass this time.

My recipe for the white sauce (bechamel) is an easier and healthier version on the traditional recipe. Instead of making a roux, I put everything in the pot together and just stir. Of course, you have to constantly stir until you get a smooth and thickened sauce. I have a friend in France, who had a bechamel making machine (which would do the stirring for you), unfortunately I don't have one so this one is done with the help of my daughter.

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh spinach (without the stems)
2 cups milk
2 heaping tablespoons cornstarch
salt, pepper, 1/2 bouillon cube (optional)

Boil the thouroughly washed spinach in very little salted water for 3 min over high heat. Drain it and then squeeze it in order to drain it some more.


To prepare the white sauce:

In a pan, add the butter, cold milk, cornstarch and seasonings and stir until all the cornstarch has disolved. Then for the next 10-15 min boil in very low heat, stirring constantly.

In a blender, add the white sauce and the cooked spinach and blend. You can also add grated parmesan cheese if you want a stronger flavor.

Tips for the white sauce:

If you get lumps, just stir vigorously until they disappear.

If it's not thick enough, in a cup, add 4 tablespoons cold milk with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and stir until it has disolved. Then add it straight to the pot and keep on stirring (at low heat) until it thickens.

If you don't have cornstarch, you can substitute for all-purpose flour.