Je t'aime français.

Well, one of my favorite assignments of the year, so far, is tonight's french homework. We were told to draw a picture of a bedroom (une chambre) and then label all the items that are in the room with their french names. I had a lot of fun with this, since I do love to draw and all. Here's how it turned out (click on picture to enlarge):

picture was taken with my iphone...so not quite full quality :)

Anyhoo...

Working on this project got me really excited about all things French again. My friend Brenda and I are about to begin a small french speaking coffee group to be able to get good practice in even though we are not surrounded by the language. Thinking about café au laits and crepes inevitably led me to start thinking about one of my favorite sandwiches in the world, the croque-monsieur, a french café classic. I thought I'd include a quick recipe for ya from one of my favorites, the always delectable Ina Garten. Enjoy!!

Croque Monsieur

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups hot milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch nutmeg
• 12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
• Dijon mustard
• 8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan and set aside.

To toast the bread, place the slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.

Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyere. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.