Thursday, April 8, 2010

Ham Braid with Leftover Ham - A New Way for Croque Monsieur

A Croque-Monsieur is a hot ham and cheese (typically emmental or gruyère) grilled sandwich. It originated in France as a fast-food snack served in cafés and bars. More elaborate versions come coated in a Mornay or Béchamel sauce. The emergence of the Croque-monsieur (and variations) is mirrored by growth in popular fast-foods in other countries.

The name is based on the verb croquer ("to crunch") and the word monsieur ("mister")—the reason behind the combination of the two words is unclear—and is colloquially shortened to Croque. While the origins of the Croque-monsieur are unknown, there are many speculations on how it was first originated. The Croque-monsieur's first recorded appearance on a Parisian café menu was in 1910. Its earliest published use has been traced back to volume two of Proust's In search of lost time (À la recherche du temps perdu)


I love Croque Monsieur Sandwich, and it’s been a while since I ate a good sandwich…

When I was still living in Beirut, I was part of a Prayer Group Called “Renouveau charismatique – The Catholic Pentecostals” we used to meet every other week at each others home, for prayers and bible study….One of my friends – Dora, was famous for her Croque Monsieur Sandwich and we all look forward when we will be at Dora’s house for Croque Monsieur Treat.

I did eat several times a Croque Monsieur, but they never tasted the same.

I have lots of leftover ham, from Easter Dinner, and I am trying to invent something to use, and I was thinking for some time about the Group and the Croque Monsieur sandwich when I got the idea of building a sandwich from scratch. I wanted to try new dough I was thinking about in my mind and wanted it give it a try....

Ingredients for the dough:

3 ½ cup of AP Flour

Dash of salt

2 tsp of dried yeast

¼ cup of warm water

1 tsp of honey or sugar

2 tbsp of soft butter

2 tbsp of home made yogurt (I am making a new recipe with yogurt to be posted when it’s done – its consist of several stages)

Ingredient for the filling:

- Around 3 cups of cubed home made cooked ham.(If you are buying get black forest and wash it under cold water and dry well to get rid of all the preservatives.

- 2 home made dill pickles drained

- 2 tbsp of Dijon mustard

- 1 – 1/5 gruyere or Swiss Cheese (i added the cheese in the bottom of the bread and on top of the stuffing)

- Salt and pepper…

I leave you with the photos… but I can add the dough was AMAZING… I am going to try the dough in another savoury recipe and see the result.

The Braid was soooo good we loved it so much. And enjoyed every bite of it…

This braid is good for picnics, for a nice tea party, for children birthdays… for a good treat any time







Someone will be enjoying his lunch










16 comments:

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

What an absolutely gorgeous version of Croque Monsieur.
Sam

Angie's Recipes said...

WOW This looks and sounds AWESOME!

Adele @ WillworkforBiltong said...

This looks fabulous! I'm very impressed that you made everything from scratch, it looks delicious.

fimere said...

ta tresse est très réussie en plus elle parait délicieuse, j'aime beaucoup
bonne journée

Kathleen said...

I can't believe you made everything from scratch! It looks so yummy! I wish I lived near you so I could beg you to make one for me!

tasteofbeirut said...

Talk about a croque-monsieur fit for a king! Wow! I cannot believe the bread is also custom-made for this! Man! Why can't restaurants do this? We have one lousy "French" bakery here and their croque is a joke compared to this!

Ana said...

Hola Arlette... tu trenza tiene muy buena pinta y se ve deliciosa!!!
Yo la hago con planchas de hojaldre ya preparadas y las relleno de dulce y salado. Con manzana, frutos secos y chocolate estan buenisimas!!!
Tienes un blog muy bonito y lleno de excelentes recetas.
Mil besos.

Azure Accessories said...

Mmmm...that looks & sounds wonderful Arlette...I'm sure "someone" enjoyed his lunch!!!

The weather is supposed to be sunny starting tomorrow and by Sunday back up to the double digits temperature wise...:0)

Enjoy your weekend...
Cheers

Juliana said...

Wow, what a great way to use the ham leftover, the braided bread looks absolutely delicious :-) Love the step-by-step pictures...very nice!d

♥Sugar♥Plum♥Fairy♥ said...

jus the kinda ecstasy we need at the party below and u sure are invited ...

Hullo Happy Sunshine pal, its GOrgeously spring ,blue skies and summer hues, we are so happy and with this happiness lets JOin the Party ,for dear CHaya 's BIRTHDAY.[10th april]..yeah its a suprise party for her....and she's ur pal too....

and all u need to do is hop at the link below and leave her a birthday message and link any or all of ur deliciousness u wanna bring to the party.....looking foward to u ....at the party and CHaya ...is going to love having u over .......
ANd if possible please send this message atleast to 5 of ur bloggin buddys , we so wanna make her day dont we....

come to the party ....ur presence n love will make the difference.....

to bring the joy of the gorgeously stunning Springtime right here

http://brightmorningstarsfoodie.blogspot.com/2010/04/hugs-n-love-suprise-party-for-u-dear.html

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

That braid looks so tempting with the filling peeking through! :D And I look forward to seeing your yogurt recipe! :D

♥Sugar♥Plum♥Fairy♥ said...

Ahh ,u were so so right , we are done with all the super desserts u came with.....thanxx a ton but everybody is demanding a piece of Arlette's super desserts....
And am also back to drool over this deliciousness here...this is super delicious ....d best Croque Monsieur,i have ever seen around...

And u had the cutest comment there ...if there was a prize it would go to u....
Oh more than flowers bursting with the springing of spring its gettin way too wam around too......
And honestly i love evrything that heralds spring but love the warm cozy snow too.....
cheers and super sparkly day to ya....

Cakebrain said...

though I am preoccupied with thoughts of cake, it's the savoury goodies that are my undoing. I can't stop eating things like this because it's so comforting! This looks so yummy!

Reeni said...

That is one delicious looking braid! The dough is gorgeous. And the ooey-gooey insides - totally yummy!

Cherine said...

My husband would love this!! Your braid looks so good!

Julia @Mélanger said...

Arlette, this is amazing. Cheese and ham is one of my favourite combinations, and wrapped up in this braided wonder, even better. You know what? I've been seeing the croque-monsieur more and more here in Brisbane lately....