Rachael Ray's Deviled Ham Croque Madame

Gadgetsmidnight's Note:

This aired on today's (9-12-11) show. It looked so good I had to whip some up for lunch and share it on this website. It was quick and easy to make. Don't let the amount of ingredients intimidate you.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1/2 lb deli ham, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 3 small sprigs fresh parsley
• 3 tablespoons onions, grated
• black pepper
• 2 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• nutmeg, fresh grated to taste
• 4 slices thick bread, white or 4 slices brioche bread
• 16 thin asparagus spears
• 2 cups gruyere cheese, grated
• 4 extra large eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Place ham in the bowl of a food processor with the mustard, Tabasco, paprika, parsley sprigs, grated onion and a few grinds of pepper. Process until very finely chopped and combined.
3. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in milk and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Thicken to coat spoon.
4. Arrange bread on a baking sheet and spread the deviled ham evenly over the slices. Top each with 4 asparagus spears then cover with béchamel sauce and some cheese. Transfer to oven and bake until golden.
5. Cook eggs to your liking and top each sandwich with an egg. Serve with a few cornichons and extra mustard at the table.

Reviews

[FLKeysJen]

Impressive brunch and like you said - quick and easy in spite of the ingredient list. This was a nice way to use up leftover frozen spiral ham; I used extra Tabasco and the homemade deviled ham is a great recipe in itself. I had to turn up the oven temperature to get it to brown, but otherwise perfect recipe.