Pardon me, but do you have any Grey Poupon?

This week's meal featured the all so fabulous Grey Poupon mustard.  Are you guys old enough to remember those famous commercials (driver of a Bentley pulls up to a car and the guy in the backseat rolls his window down and says "Pardon me, but do you have any Grey Poupon?").  I was in Junior High when these commercials were at their peak.  We would do this in our mom's car, at stoplights.  Really funny, right?  Well, this meal was anything but funny!

So, both the main course and side dish contained this special ingredient.  Which was a Croque Monsieur, with a dijon spread, and a chilled asparagus salad, with a dijon vinaigrette. 

The sandwich starts with nothing less than JAK's homemade bread.  It was extra good this week.

Thick slices, good for piling high with ham and cheese and toasting.

This ham was unbelievable.  I am not a huge fan of ham, as it tends to be on the fatty side.  The slice, was so thin and very lean though.  It was also smoked, which gave it a great flavor....especially with....

......all the shredded gruyere cheese!  Second to gouda in my book!

Eggs being beaten, for the wash on the sandwich.  This gives it an extra crispy outside crust!

Grey Poupon being spread on the bread!

Four slices of ham, with plenty of gruyere cheese on top.

Piled high, baby!

After being grilled on the top-stove, and placed under the broiler.  Crunchy, yummy, ooey, gooey.  Notice the asparagus salad, and small dish with the dijon vinaigrette.  The vinaigrette contained garlic, shallots, dijon, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.  The asparagus salad was boiled for two-minutes, placed in the fridge to cool and then hit with salt before serving.  It was so good!

And, as always....a finished plate!

I have included the recipe for this amazing sandwich below.  Enjoy!

JAK’S CROQUE MONSIEUR

       

       

        8 slices white bread

        2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

        4 ounces butter, softened

        4 slices ham

        4 slices gruyere cheese

        2 eggs, slightly beaten

        1 tablespoon water

        salt

        fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Prep Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 20 mins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

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 ½ of the cheese.

Beat the eggs with the water, add salt and pepper to taste. Dip the sandwiches into the egg mixture, coating all sides well.

Bake them for 2 ½  minutes on each side (we prefer to bake the sandwiches on a preheated cast iron griddle with a little bit of butter on it). Now, sprinkle the sandwiches with the remaining Gruyere, turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.

Until next time....A la cuisine!