A CROQUE RETROSPECTIVE . . .

Here’s another very entertaining post from The Paris Corespondent, Shirley Riley. Here are the links to her other posts.

Guest Blogger – The Paris Corespondent

Paris is a ‘Spatial’ Place

This is NOT a COVER UP…

Watching the World Go By

A CROQUE RETROSPECTIVE . . .

***Health advisory—-This post is high in cholesterol (i.e. lots of butter/buerre and cheese/fromage. Proceed with caution.***

We have lived in Paris a full year—and I am so over it. No… No….wait…I do NOT mean Paris . . . or French food! OMG. What I mean is that after one year of ordering and consuming a particular brasserie item in one variation or another whenever placing an order at a cafe, I am totally over this selection…

Let me explain…

Remember Kraft slices? Those individually plastic wrapped pieces of pasteurized cheese? Remember Wonder bread? The most basic food group for anyone taking a lunch box to school. In my childhood home, the big deal treat on a weekend was sitting with a tray table at the ready for a grilled cheese sandwich: Wonder bread, butter, slice of Kraft cheese, frying pan, did I mention butter—?  I had no interest in the addition of a slice of deli lunch meat. It was all about the cheese, the butter, the crispy grilled bread. Saturday lunch. Comfort Food. 

So over they years when visiting France I have found the classic French ‘Croque’ ’sandwich’ very appealing and continued making it my frequent personal selection during our first year living in Paris.

What exactly is a croque? I The term is from the French verb ‘croquer’ which essentially means ‘crunchy bite’, which is exactly what one does when taking a bite of the crispy toasted bread—(with knife and fork, or course; in France one simply does not pick it up like a hamburger). Croques may be baked or fried so that the cheese topping melts and forms a crust. The basic ingredients are bread, buerre (which to me is its own food group), ham, and cheese. That said, every cafe creates and serves its own version of the croque so the look and taste varies widely from cafe to cafe. Sometimes the edges are burnt; sometimes they are just right. Nothing is a turn off; all croques look very appealing!

Various types of breads are used at various bistros to create a unique presentation of the croque (and no, none are slices of white Wonder bread.) And believe me, wherever you go, the presentation is usually pretty fabulous, although sometimes a bit overwhelming. 

While the cheese used in a croque is usually Gruyére, some cafes prefer Emmental; other chefs add béchamel sauce. The amount of cheese and look of the melted, grilled cheese also varies. Ham is pretty much a basic ingredient of a croque—and in France, the ham is, well, delicious. At one cafe, the server asked if I would like to try my croque with smoked turkey—-and I foolishly responded ‘oui.’ It was just wrong. Never again.

There is one additional and unique aspect of ‘the croque’. One often has the choice of selecting either a Croque Monsieur or a Croque Madam. So what is the difference between the former and latter….? It’s interesting… The ‘masculine’ version is just your basic delicious toasted cheese and ham sandwich. It’s feminine counterpart has an egg on top. Seriously. An egg. Pourquoi…?

The egg is either fried or poached (sunny side up). Now I rather like a Croque Madam with that soft egg on top so that I can use the yolk like a sauce; it’a a personal preference. When the server brings it, he/she usually says ‘Croque Madam for Madam.’ Cute. 

But what’s the deal with the egg to differentiate the two…? Well, I have my own theory, I mean—an egg. Women. Eggs…something to do with a woman’s talent to reproduce— ?!? Whatever. Not sure about the Croque Monsieur. I’ve often noticed pepper flakes on a non-egg-adorned croque, so perhaps that represents beard stubble….I have no idea. BUT, I did do a little online research and in several places came across this: “…a croque madame is named for its resemblance to a woman’s vintage hat.” Seems a bit far fetched, but okay….

As time went on this year and I actualy began to tire of ordering Croque Monsieur/Madam….(which usually come with salad and fries so a lot of food), I discovered some cafes simply offer Croque Apero —one sandwich cut into little squares to share (partager) with someone—-no salad, no fries. A good way to get a bit of the flavor and enjoyment of these beautiful sandwiches.

And then the final straw when I realized I was ‘up to here’ with croques. We visited a favorite cafe—La Rose de France right near the Seine—specifically for their beautiful croque madam (which is THE BEST) and which comes with fries (beyond THE BEST). Unfortunately, they were closed as a movie was being filmed there that day. So instead we visited Cafe Dauphin next door where I—of course—ordered their Croque Monsieur. As you can see in the photo….it was large. Very large. I don’t even understand where they got bread that size. And as nice as the servers were, it was not particularly tasty. I termed it the Croque Monster. Three bites put an end to my Croque Cycle. Done.

I am curious about what my new MENU choices might be…How brave will I become when ordering lunch or dinner at a cafe? Will I be an intrepid eater? Time will tell. While it definitely was a great year filled with cholesterol laden toasted cheese and ham croques— enough is enough! Finis! 

Thank you Shirley, for this delightful post! As always, we’d love to hear from you, so feel free to leave a comment.

Bon Appétit!