This post contains Affiliate Links
I organize recipes I have torn out of magazines, or printed off the the internet, by putting them into clear sleeves and filing them by category in a ring binder. We recently were asked to bring an appetizer to a party and when my husband flipped through the binders he came across the Croque Monsieur Sandwich recipe I put in the appetizer section. He thought I had placed it in the wrong category, but I had put it there because I thought it would be yummy in a smaller version and it was! To me a mini toasted cheese sandwich is the perfect appetizer! Be sure to pass them with a cocktail napkin, they are finger licking good.
Mini Croque Monsieur Sandwiches
recipe adapted from Meredith Steele
PRINT recipe
~Ingredients~
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups Gruyere cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1 ½ cups warm milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
- French Baguette
- 1 lb thinly sliced ham
- Dijion mustard
~Directions~
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- To make the béchamel: In a saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add flour, whisk, and cook for 1 minute until smooth. Slowly add milk, whisking continuously and cook until thick, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add ¼ cup Gruyere cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir until smooth. Set aside until needed.
- Slice the baguette into ¼ inch pieces. Lay the bread slices on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Toast until golden, about 3-5 minutes, flip and toast for another 2 minutes. Remove from oven.
- While the bread is toasting, cut the ham into 1 inch pieces or the width of baguette slice.
- Lightly spread half of the bread slices with mustard and top with 3-6 slices of ham. Top the ham with a pinchful of Gruyere (you should have ½ up of cheese remaining). Place a piece of toast on top of the gruyere making a sandwich.
- Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet covered in foil. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the béchamel sauce over each sandwich and sprinkle each sandwich with remaining Gruyere. Place under the broiler in the oven and broil for 3 to 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and lightly golden.
- Remove sandwiches from the oven, carefully put sandwiches on cutting board and place toothpicks on each end of the sandwiches. Cut the sandwiches in half with a serrated knife.
- Place on serving dish and serve warm.
photographs by Ridgely
I made these for my New Year’s Eve party–huge hit!