Have you ever had a breakfast that blew your mind? A few years ago, when Stephen and I were first married, we went to one of my favorite French bakeries for a fun brunch. Honestly, I don’t even remember what I ordered but Stephen? He ordered the Croque Madame and it changed our culinary world. I think it was one of the first times my taste buds felt like they had died and gone to heaven. We couldn’t put our forks down.
Throughout the years I have tried, unsuccessfully, to recreate the sandwich we had at La Farm Bakery, until today. After scouring Pinterest for the past few days, I realized what I had been leaving out! The bechamel sauce!
Béchamel, for those unfamiliar, is a sauce made from butter, heavy cream, dijon mustard, nutmeg, and gruyére cheese. It is decadent, creamy, luscious and perfect spooned over this sandwich (and pretty much anything else). I mean, just look at how incredible this looks? I promise, it tastes even better.
Oh, and as soon as you cut into that over-easy egg on top and take that first bite filled with ham, spinach, lightly toasted bread, and béchamel sauce? I promise you will be transported to your happy place.
And in case you’re intimidated by the sauce (I was!), don’t be. Despite it’s fancy French name, the hardest part of this sauce is the stirring. (Side note: as stated earlier I was totally scared of the béchamel sauce but, I promise (pinky swear) that you can do it! It’s definitely not as hard as I you think.)
- 1 loaf of freshly sliced honey wheat bread
- 1 package black forest ham
- 1 cup of spinach
- 2 eggs
- Béchamel Sauce
- 1 TBS. butter
- 1 TBS. flour
- 1 tsp. nutmeg
- 7 oz. heavy cream
- 1½ tsp. Dijon Mustard
- ½ tsp. ground mustard
- 1 oz. gruyére (grated)
- In a small sauce pan, heat the butter over a low heat. Once melted, add the flour and whisk until a paste forms. Slowly add the heavy cream, and whisk over a medium-high heat until the mixture thickens. Add the nutmeg, ground mustard, and dijon. Remove from heat and add the grated gruyére. Continue to stir until the cheese is incorporated.
- Preheat the oven to 250. Place 6 slices of bread on a baking sheet and brush each with butter (both sides). Top 2 of the slices with egg, and the other four with ham. Bake for about 15-20 minutes (or until the eggs are cooked thoroughly). Once ready, simply stack (place the bread with the egg on top) and then top with béchamel sauce. Serve immediately!
Okay seriously?!?! Come and take my pictures for me 🙂 This looks amazing Aubrey!!
Chelsea, you totally need to try this! As for the pictures, you are way too nice! I was lucky, this meal was incredibly photogenic 😉
Yum! The hub and I love croque madame so much. Each time we eat out for brunch, this is part of our shared plate. Yum!
I’m so glad you two feel the same way! This has quickly become one of our “staple” breakfast items! How do you normally prepare yours?
simply stunning photos, that egg yolk drip has me swooning!
Thank you, Christine! You just made my day 🙂
This looks incredible. Beautiful pictures… Now I’m hungry!
Hey Annie, thanks for your sweet comment! Let me know if you try it out! I promise, it’s totally worth it!
Wow this looks absolutely amazing. What a wonderful breakfast idea. I will have to make this over the weekend for my boyfriend and I. I LOVE Béchamel sauce!
Let me know how you like it! This is seriously the perfect brunch!
Aubrie,
Lovely blog! Would you be so kind to put up a recipe for Eggs Benedict, if you have one? It’s one of those I’m still learning to master, and had a hunch you may already be the expert.
Oh, and I made your tomato soup recently… and it was great!
Hi Aida! Thanks for the recipe recommendation! I love Eggs Benedict and would love to put a recipe for my favorite version up on the blog, soon! Glad you enjoyed the tomato soup 🙂