What a week!

It has been a crazy couple of weeks since I last posted. First off, I have to admit, I made those croque monsieurs from the Ina Garten Barefoot in Paris cookbook. They were fantabulous! I adored them. My aunt Kate gave me that book a few years back, and I hate to admit that this was the first recipe I had actually made. I've considered tons, but this was the first one. It was delish!


Recipe:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups hot milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch nutmeg
• 12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed Dijon mustard
• 8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan and set aside.
3. 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.
4. Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyere. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes.
5. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.

I made a half recipe. Other modifications I made included using stone ground mustard rather than plain yellow. I also, put a little extra ham on because I"m a fan of the pork products!

Mondya I was in a wreck. It wasn't bad, but a woman backed into me at the Target. The Sarah-mobile has a nice dent in the back quarter panel. We'll be going to get it looked at later this week. Of course, when it rains, it pours. Tuesday afternoon I had a flat as a pancake tire. That I did get fixed immediately seeing as how I wanted to get home to my puppies.

Tuesday night was also my first book club meeting. This would be the book club through Lorelei Books. It was pretty cook to get to meet some new people and discus a book. So far our membership consists of a few young 'uns like me and a few older women. It is pretty cool to discuss with people of different backgrounds. We all have different things to say. THis month we read Mermaids in the Basement, by Michael Lee West. The book was pretty enjoyable. It wasn't something I would spend tons of money on, so let me know if you want to borrow it. however, it did crack me up. The characters were absolutely insane. I think that there really are people like them in the south!