I was going to make something that took more than 15 minutes yesterday… and then I didn’t get home until 9:30. So I decided to make croque monsieur (monsieurs? I don’t know French grammar) — a fancy way of saying grilled ham and cheese sandwiches.

I got the idea to make these a few weeks ago from an old episode of “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home.” You’d think I would have come up with this earlier, since I am kind of an expert on grilled cheese sandwiches.

Of course, my family lived in Belgium for two years and while I ate more than my share of cheese omelets, waffles and smoutebollen, I don’t recall ever actually eating a croque monsieur in Brussels or in Paris.

What I do remember is a Croque Hawaii — a grilled ham and cheese with pineapple. Unfortunately, I remembered that today, after we had eaten these sandwiches. So maybe tomorrow? I still have some pineapple left over from a pineapple upside-down cake I baked for our good friend Dan (the cake tasted lovely but didn’t caramelize properly so I am not going to blog about it until I figure out the problem).

And yes, I had some trouble with the buttering of the far piece of bread, but let’s try to pretend that didn’t happen.

In hindsight, I should have used more cheese. Next time.

There are a couple things I learned from Julia and Jacques on this one. First: Butter the bread. Top and bottom. Second: The cheese won’t really melt properly in a skillet (without over-toasting the bread), so stick the sandwich in the oven for a few minutes to get that ooey gooey-ness you’re looking for.

A lion spatula is not required, but it is recommended. Especially if you want your sandwich to be fierce. (I know, I even made myself groan with that one)

I recommend Gruyere cheese, but it is pretty expensive. Swiss also works.

Croque monsieur (grilled ham and cheese) — Makes two sandwiches
4 slices white bread
4 slices ham
Gruyere or Swiss cheese
Dijon mustard
Butter, softened
*2 slices pineapple (for a Croque Hawaii)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter one side of each slice of bread. For each sandwich, spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard on the un-buttered side of one slice of bread. Place two slices of ham on top of the mustard, then place cheese (number of slices will vary based on the size of the block of cheese) on top of the ham. (Place the pineapple on top, if using). Top with remaining bread slice, buttered side facing out.

Heat a skillet to medium heat, then grill sandwiches one at a time until golden brown on both sides**. Place sandwiches on a baking sheet and bake in the 350-degree oven until cheese melts, 5-10 minutes. Cut and serve.

**Be careful that your sandwich doesn’t fall apart when you flip it, since the cheese won’t be melted yet to bind it together. I used the back of a fork to hold the sandwich together as I was turning it.

Update: I just saw this, so I haven’t tried it. But if you want to get really fancy (and a little messy), you can also make a bechamel sauce to go on the outside of the bread.