Ooh, I forgot about this post, I made this for Mr R’s birthday breakfast on 1st Jan, and now it February already but this such is a winning recipe so I have decided to make it RECIPE OF THE MONTH. It is a sarnie for a special occasion, for a special brunch, cut up small as hors d’oevre for a party (!) or even just for a day when you are working from home and heartily fed up with the endless cup-a-soups or peanut butter on toast for your luncheon. Or is that just me?
On the morning of my birthday Mr R traditionally disappears into the kitchen and rustles me up a Croque Monsieur, with stripes!
I languish in bed like the Queen of Sheba until he returns with it on a tray accompanied by a small bottle of fizz.
This year I decided that I would do the same for him. I am ashamed to say that I had this idea late in the day, so Mr R had to provide the bread, egg, milk, cheese, butter and ham rather than me putting my hand in my pocket, but he loved it all the same. I did manage to hide two small bottles of posh prosecco on the balcony overnight though, so they were nice and cold for the morning.
Mr R’s birthday is January 1st so this is how we began what we all hope will be a better year than last year. Cheers! I am wishing all my readers a wonderful 2021, we’ve got through a 12th of it already!
Here are the process pix…
…and here’s the recipe. Heartily recommended for a birthday breakfast or anytime you want to treat yourself, or a loved one to a super-deluxe sandwich!
For those landing here who may not know, I’m working on a Vincent Price cookbook with the lovely Peter Fuller of the Vincent Price Legacy UK.
You can read all about it here…
looks fantastic!
It is SO delicious! Try it! Jx
Yep, used to be quite the cup-a-soup addict and a bit of cheese on toast maybe for lunch, but when Ainsley went from 4 sachets to three and put the price up 20p that was enough for me ! I bought a soup maker -size of a small slow cooker really .. It has two settings ‘Cook’ .. ‘Warm’ . I quickly chop whatever veg I want, dump it in the cooker pint of stock, season, switch on – 20 mins later tasty soup – use stick blender if you want it smooth . Making version of VP’s carrot soup like this later.
But oh, how I love a croque Monsieur. Some years ago, in Paris with a girlfriend, we took breakfast every morning in the Tuileries, but we never like the coffee there so on our last morning we had pints of cold lager with it instead . Quite delicious and when in France !! And a croque monsieur bag of posh crisps and a glass of vino is the best TV supper ever !
Mark! I must stop reading your comments first thing in the morning, they make me sooooo hungry! I have one of those soup makers too – it’s like a massive kettle, I love it. Mmmm, lager with breakfast, now that is a tradition I can get amongst. Croque, crips and vino – YES!
Well, I just learned that “sarnie” is a way of saying sandwich!
This looks so tasty, I’ve been inspired to put “bread for grilled sarnie” on my grocery list this week.
Haha – I love it when I stumble upon a word that doesn’t quite translate! I love sarnies!
This sounds so good! I will have to give it a try! Thanks!
It is DIVINE! I think you’ll love it Annette!
Oops .. I put a comment on here the other day and I clearly forgot to press ‘Submit Comment’ button !!! But I love, love, a croque .. Had my first in paris of course with a cold pint of lager . Still the best ever TV dinner with a bag of posh crisps and pickle or two.
But I also managed to cure myself of my cup-a-soup addiction by buying a neat little soup maker . It has two settings ‘Cook’ ‘Warm’ .. Just put whatever you want into it, pint of stock, season to taste, lid on and 20 mins later you have a delicious soup .. Ok I know that’s 17 minutes more than it takes to boil a kettle and pour into cup and there’s a bit more washing up, but I’m hooked. It’s what I make my VP carrot soup in. So it’s all your fault really !!
Haha – yes Mark, I did get your previous comment, I have been immersed in a cookery demo video project for the Hippfest Silent Film Festival (details coming soon) so have been away from the blog for a bit. Lovely to return to find TWO comments from you though. Yes, I love my soup machine too! I do like having a big pot of soup on the go on the hob when I’ve got other stuff to do in the kitchen but the soup maker is great when you want to go off and do something else. Hmmm – I went a bit mad in my veg order last week so may well get my soup maker out of the cupboard!
Ha ha .. Croque Monsieurs .. so good I wrote about them twice ! Thank god it means I’ve not been as absent minded as I thought these last few weeks !! Silent film cookery demo sounds good . Trust it ends in big food fight between you and Mr R …
Oh man, why didn’t I think of that? CUSTARD PIE FIGHT! Jx
Well I did it !! Didn’t go with two types of cheese . Couldn’t make a decision in Waitrose so just went with a giant block of strong cheddar and Brunswick ham . So often just do a cheese & ham toastie slipped into one of those toast pockets for use in toaster, but this time went the whole monty in oceans of butter !! Delicious ! Sorry if this makes you hungry again !!
Ooooh yum yum! Watching cricket before breakfast with Mr R and I WANT CROQUE MONSIEUR! Toast will have to do though! mmmm – glad you did the full Monty, you may never turn back to the toast pockets!