Croque Monsieur for dinner on a busy day

Welcome to my cooking blog!

I love cooking! And in these blog series, I want to share some of my favorite recipes with you guys. I love savory food so you will probably see a lot of that on my cooking blog. Though I do like myself a little pie here and there, I am not much of a sweets gal, so you will probably not see many sweet desserts or baked goods here. But, you never know! I might just surprise you.

Growing up, I loved joining my mother and grandmother in the kitchen to help out in any way I could. I enjoyed mixing different ingredients together and turning them into something delicious. It became a cherished tradition that my family and I shared in the late afternoons.

I come from an Uzbek household so I watched my family cook all kinds of Uzbek food growing up. Uzbek food incorporates a lot of meat, rice, vegetables, and cumin in its recipes. The Uzbek cuisine may be new to many of you out there so I cannot wait to share some of my favorite recipes and introduce the amazing food of my beautiful country! With that being said, I love trying different types of cuisines from around the world so I cannot wait to experiment and make different dishes as well.

If you have been following my other posts then you probably know that I am currently living in the beautiful City of Light: Paris. Living in Paris has inspired me in many ways, especially in the culinary department. Nowadays, I have been pretty occupied with my tutoring lessons, grad school applications, this blog stuff, and a million other things that I keep myself busy with that that I do not have too much time to cook meals. Therefore the meal I will be sharing with you all today is something you can make very quick with little effort after a long day of studying, or now that it is summer, perhaps after a long day of work. It is the delicious, super easy, Croque Monsieur.

Even though the name may not ring a bell, I am sure you have tried it at least once in your lifetime. In the United States, the Croque Monsieur would be referred to as a Ham and Cheese sandwich, grilled. It is quite delicious and very filling. For those who eat only kosher or halal food and do not eat ham, you can substitute a turkey or a chicken cold- cut. I personally do not eat Ham myself so I will be substituting chicken!

When it comes to cooking, I like to explore my creative side and conjure up something using the ingredients I have in my cabinet or refrigerator. And other times, I will take a simple recipe and add my own twist to it. And therefore with today’s meal, I will do just that. I have decided to add a little of my own flavor to this classic French dish.

You will need the following ingredients for a serving size of 4 sandwiches:

• 2 eggs
• thin slices of white sandwich bread
• butter
• cold- cut meat (ham, turkey, chicken, etc. )
• slices of Croque Monsieur cheese (or Emmental, Cheddar, Swiss will do as well)
• salt and pepper

Steps:

1. Crack two eggs into a small bowl. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper for a little flavor, and then mix it.



2. Melt butter on a pan (over low heat).
3. Using a basting brush (or a spoon), apply the egg mixture to the slices of bread one at a time. The bread does not need to be covered all over. Just lightly apply it.
4. At the same time, place two slices of the white sandwich bread on the pan. Switch to the other side once it has turned a little brown. This will usually take about 30 seconds. Keep an eye out, you do not want to burn the bread.



5. Fip the pieces to the other side, and then immediately place the cheese on one slice, and place the cold- cut on the other slice. Keep on for about 30 seconds or until both pieces of bread have turned a little brown at the bottom.



6. Join the slices together to form a sandwich.
7. Using a spatula, press from the top of the sandwich to "grill" it. Just for a few seconds - probably twice should suffice.
8. Flip to the other side, and repeat step 7.
9. Voila! Your first sandwich is ready!
10. Repeat steps 1- 8 for the other sandwiches.

As you can see, this recipe is super easy and very appetizing! You can slice the sandwiches up into smaller pieces and they will serve as great appetizers for get-togethers and parties! Try it out and let me know what you think. If you add your own twist to it, make sure to share it so I can also try it out. I am always looking for an excuse to make this delicious recipe! Enjoy your sandwiches and follow for more mouthwatering recipes.

Photo gallery