Un Canadian Croque

November 16th
It has happened!

I have finally made un croque monsieur! TADA!

Yeeeess! Feast your eyes upon it in jealousy that you did not think to make one yourself! 

It's really quite easy.

All you need is 2 slices of bread
Some sliced ham
Some cheese squares whichever flavor you'd like ( I used swiss)
And lots and lots of butter!

To all my Canadian friends sitting at home reading this and are thinking "this is just a grilled cheese sandwich with ham in it" you are absolutely right! Which makes it all the more easier to make since no Canadian has lived to the age of 20 without eating a grilled cheese sandwich...unless they're allergic to one of the ingredients.
There are other variations to the recipe if you'd like to give it a little twist:

• croque provençal (with tomato)^[8]
• croque auvergnat (with bleu d'Auvergne cheese)^[9]
• croque gagnet (with Gouda cheese and andouille sausage)
• croque norvégien (with smoked salmon instead of ham)^[10]
• croque tartiflette (with sliced potatoes and Reblochon cheese)^[11]
• croque bolognese / croque Boum-Boum (with Bolognese sauce)
• croque señor (with tomato salsa)
• croque Hawaiian (with a slice of pineapple)

• the "Croque McDo" sandwich at McDonald's locations in France (which is kind of terrifying to think of)

So yeah just put it all together! I like to fry one side and then sprinkle cheese on the top of that side as the other side is frying so it melts everywhere.
There are variations to this recipe of course. A Croque Madame is a Monsieur with an egg on top of it
It's super easy and super quick and makes a great snack.
When I went to Normandy a few years ago I would have at least one of these a day. Of course mine pales in comparison because those bistro chefs are experts and they use the best ingredients where as I am a poor student who buys processed ingredients because they are cheap. But it's the thought and the memories that count I think.
I could not tell you if this snack is originally French. The earliest documentation of it in France was in 1910 but clearly many other cultures have something similar to it.
We in Canada have the grilled cheese sandwich.
In the UK they have Welsh Rarebit where they pour a hot cheese sauce over the sandwich and this documents back to the 18th Century.

So what came first? Well the Croque Monsieur probably came before the Classic North American Grilled Cheese but could the Croque Monsieur be a less messy version of the Welsh Rarebit?
Who's to say what came first.
All I know is that it's delicious and a classic snack I think should become more popular in Canadian cafes.
Until next time.
Cecilly <3