Croque Madame Lunchtime Muffins

After watching the fabulous Rachel Khoo again on Sunday mornings, I wanted to give her take on the Croque Madame a go for a Saturday lunch. An alternative to eggs on toast, she adapts the ingredients for a classic Croque Madame and turns them into a crispy, béchamel/mornay stuffed treat, perfect for all the family.

I can’t compete with the beautiful photography and wonderful writing of this little gem of a blog from ‘Eat, Little Bird’, but this is where I found the recipe. It’s a simple combination and you can really add whatever you’d like. Since it was also for my toddler, I left salt and cheese out from the béchamel as there was to be cheese on top.

You’ll need:

milk, flour, butter, grated nutmeg and Dijon mustard for the béchamel.

ham/bacon, small eggs & cheese for the filling

sliced white bread and melted butter for the cases.

Method:

Cut the crusts from the bread (I shoved these in the coffee grinder to make breadcrumbs for the freezer!) then butter both sides. I melted the butter first but don’t think this really matters as it will melt in the oven anyway!

Next, push each slice into a muffin or dariole mould (1), place some torn ham or cooked bacon pieces in the bottom of each (2) and tip a small egg on top (3). If the egg is too big (I used the small ones my chickens have just begun laying again this week) tip a little of the white out into a freezer bag and freeze to use for meringue at a later date.

Make a quick béchamel: Pop a tablespoon of butter into a hot pan and quickly whisk in some plain flour until the mixture begins to form a ball. Slowly, tip some milk in and whisk quickly over a high heat. Pour a little in at a time and continue adding until you have a thick, cream sauce. Add the mustard and nutmeg. You can add grated cheese here too. Pour on top of the egg (4).

Grate a little cheese on top, sprinkle with pepper (5) and place in the oven at 180 oC for 12-15 minutes if you like the yolks runny, and 15-20 minutes if you prefer them more cooked.

The whole process is a little phaffy (especially when compared to poached eggs and ham on toast!) but the end result was lovely: A nice crispy shell, helped, I think, by the fact I used metal cases rather than silicone; and melted insides. I’d add more béchamel next time and reduce the cooking time so the yolk was runny as mine needed a little more moisture as they were quite dry. I’d also add some chopped parsley and maybe some chives for a little more flavour. If you used a smoked bacon, that would be really delicious! I’d do this again as the ingredients are those usually found in the fridge and cupboards, but probably only if I had some leftover béchamel from a lasagne or similar to reduce phaffiness!

Sausages Braised in Red Wine

Sausages Braised in Red Wine

This is a Delia twist on an old favourite and is absolutely delicious. I never use venison sausages, but whichever I fancy that particular day. It's the juniper berries and redcurrant jelly that make it though - the sweet and sour 'bite' and sauce with bacon is just scrummy!

The idea is that you brown off the sausages, fry off bacon, onions and mushrooms with some crushed juniper berries, and braise the lot in red wine. I just steamed some broccoli in the microwave to go alongside, and because my mum still always asks what greens I'm having with my tea: sometimes I even make it up, but, being my mum, she always knows!

Tartiflette

One of the best things about a skiing holiday has to be the full-fat food doesn't it? I was introduced to this dish as part of a 'demi-pension' half-board skiing holiday in Valberg - a little resort in the Southern French Alps, and it has remained one of my favourites every since. Now, each ski holiday, I insist on eating it at least once, even if it means a trip down to the village rather than lunch on the slopes! And, because you've skiied all morning, you can eat it without any guilt at all, knowing that you've burnt off hundreds of calories in the morning and will continue to do even more in the afternoon - if you can actually get out of your chair or dare to leave the warmth of the sun after lunch!

My meal this year was in Auron, again in the South of France. The village is small and delightful and there is one restaurants that is superb - it's part of a hotel but has an outside terrace area in the sun and a lovely bar area for that all important apres-ski. The hotel is called Edelweiss, and their tartiflette is one of my two favourite! The other is in a restaurant in the back streets of Nice, served only in winter obviously.

For those who don't ski, or haven't heard of Tartiflette, it is originally a dish from the Savoie region of France and uses Reblochon cheese. Recipes vary, but all include potatoes, cheese and usually, bacon/lardons. Edelweiss' version also includes onions. It is served in a low pottery dish and this particular one had a delicious green salad with tasty dijon dressing. The basic idea is that all the ingredients are cooked, the covered with cheese and baked. here's my version of the recipe:

Tartiflette

Potatoes - peeled and chunked
Onion - sliced
Lardons - smoked if preferred
Creme fraiche
Reblochon - sliced in half, both ways!

First, par-boil the potatoes until just cooked.
Fry off the onions and lardons and when cooked, add the potatoes to brown. Season if necessary.
Transfer to a low sided oven-proof bowl and stir in a good dollop of creme fraiche.
Place the large slices of reblochon on top with the crust uppermost. (The cheese should be cut in half so you have two semi-circles, then sliced horizontally.)
Bake in a medium oven (170) for about twenty minutes until the cheese is brown and the dish is bubbling!

It's not a light-weight dish, but if served with a crisp green salad, you can kid yourself you're at least getting some nutrients! And it's always best after a morning ski session, sitting in the sun with a cold, clear glass of white!

My Guilty Pleasure

What more can I say? I couldn't help myself. A fellow Twitterer blogged about her Guilty Pleasures Dinner Party and it all sounded great fun - I might even hold one myself. Well, this is certainly one of mine. Bacon, fried egg and cheese bap. It's not that unusual for breakfast, but when it's for tea, it doesn't really offer a balance of nutrients does it? Oh, well; once in a while won't hurt. :P Thanks Lizzie!

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Roasted Vegetables

As I sit here writing this, my boyfriend has decided he too would like to write a blog and is asking all sorts of questions regarding how I know about blogging; what it costs; what I am writing about; why I am doing it, etc, etc! My mouth is watering, not because of all the questions and answers, but because the beef (cooked to perfection - rare) on the television looks fantastic. My dinner is still in the oven!


I guess the purpose of this is to see what happens. It's like when I pick up a wet leaf from the pavement - just to see; you never know what amazing patterns you're going to find underneath. Look at my little dinosaur leaf in Budapest! I couldn't just leave (he he he) him lying there on his own! So that's what this blog is: a leaf, well, the pattern left by it on the pavement. An experiment. To see what happens if I write a blog. I've chosen to keep food as the main topic as this is my passion. I live, breathe and eat the stuff, literally. Even as a child I needed to know what I was having for tea (does that give away that I'm a Northerner ;) ) before I left for school so I could look forward to it during the day.

To be fair, I arrived home fairly early and had time to make a meal and begin this blog - I don't know which I'm more excited about, food or blogging...

Tonight it's Stuffed Chicken Breast with Roasted Vegetables.

A quick and easy Thursday tea. I stuffed the free-range chicken with garlic, garden herbs and cheese, then wrapped them in bacon. Before transferring to the oven, I pan fried them to add colour and flavour. Yum! Can't wait until the summer when I can use veggies from the garden!
(oops - spent too much time doing this and just rescued the veggies in time!)


A demain,

Merlotti x