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READY IN 15 mins

Croque Madame

Read Reviews (9)

"This recipe is a favorite in my family! I take a French class and I bring these little sandwiches to the French meeting. This typical French delectable is always on the menu in little French cafes." — Jennifer James

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Original recipe makes 1 serving Change Servings

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 thick slices white bread

2 slices ham
1 egg

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Directions

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Mix in the cheese once it is melted. Dip each slice of bread into the melted cheese, coating both sides.
Heat a skillet over medium heat. Place one slice of bread into the skillet and top with 2 slices of ham. Place the second piece of bread on top. Fry until golden on each side, then remove from the skillet and set aside.
Fry the egg in the hot skillet to your liking: easy, medium, or well done. Place the fried egg on top of the sandwich and serve.

Kitchen-Friendly View

PREP 5 mins
COOK 10 mins
READY IN 15 mins

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Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Sep 24, 2011

I saw the beautiful photo of this sandwich this morning and had everything in stock to make it. I made one for DH and one for me. His didn't turn out too well since the cheddar cheese mixture was really globby and I couldn't get it to soak into the bread and had to sort of spread the cheese on. But the second time I didn't add the full one cup of cheese to the butter. maybe a wee bit over a half cup, and used Colby Jack instead of Cheddar. It melted much better than the cheddar did. Once it reached a well mixed taffy like texture I removed from the heat and put my thick slice of white bread on it and sort of soaked the mix in it like a sponge, then quickly removed it to the fry pan already heated on medium and ready, threw on the ham slices and then soaked up the rest of the cheese mixture with second piece of bread moving it and dabbing it until no mixture was left. Timing seems to be the key and the longer you wait the cheese mix starts to gob up. You may also want to start your egg while cooking the sandwich, or the sandwich gets pretty cool waiting for the egg. I liked the taste of the crusty cheese bread and the oozing egg yolk on top. Was a very nice breakfast treat. Just have everything out and ready and be prepared to have a bit of clean-up. But tasted very good and worth the extra work. My husband loved his even though it wasn't exactly pretty.

—*Sherri*

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Oct 22, 2009

Difficult to rate, as I'm uncertain at what consistency the melted butter/cheese is to be at to not burn, but make it easy to coat the bread. So I expect that my attempt was more a cobbling of the ingredients than the complete blending and presentation I would imagine is involved in a French treat.

—JG Bird

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13 Ratings

Jul 28, 2010

I had this when I went to Versaille and it's exactly the recipe made it turn out almost exactly the same way! :D

—DarkFyre

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Dec 26, 2011

Made it for Christmas breakfast. Yummy! We used french bread and cut them into thick slices and they are so good! I melted my cheese over a make-shift double boiler (a glass container over simmering water in a saucepan) as I was afraid that the cheese might stick to the pan. Took a while for the cheese to melt, but it did eventually. Dipped the bread into the cheese (had to spread the cheese a little) and quickly put it on the already heated skillet. Great breakfast for special occasions as the colours of this sandwich is bright and beautiful!

—merlion

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Jul 30, 2011

I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out, since the cheese melted into a ball that was almost impossible to dip bread into. I pretty much had to spread the melted cheese on the bread. It was also hard to brown it, because the cheese stuck to the pan. But when it was all done, it was delicious!

—CHELSEAK3

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Dec 28, 2010

This was fun, easy and tasty- my whole family agreed. I threw several different cheeses into my saucepan (mild white English cheddar, yellow cheddar and some monteray jack). It was interesting how, at one point, the cheese was almost a taffy consistency. Once you reach that point, you're almost there. This is very rich, and definitely not diet food. It is super yummy though. Thanks, Alyssa!

—Citrus Punch

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Nov 10, 2007

Quick and easy to make, and oh so delicious!

—Jennifer James

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Feb 18, 2012

This was oh so good! I swear my taste buds were singing the hallelujah chorus. This was so quick and easy to make and very filling. The only thing I did differently was to thinly slice the cheddar cheese since 1) I wasn't keen to have another item - the grater - to clean up. Lol and 2) I saw some persons had issues with getting the shredded cheese to melt properly. It came out perfectly! I feel a little guilty about the cholesterol content of this meal but I'll get over it. Lol

—SweetPepper13

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Nutrition

Calories
889 kcal
44%

Carbohydrates
32.5 g
10%

Cholesterol
387 mg
129%

Fat
64.2 g
99%

Fiber
1.4 g
6%

Protein
45.3 g
91%

Sodium
1417 mg
57%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Croque Madame

Serving Size: 1/1 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 1
Amount Per Serving
** Calories: 889
** Calories from Fat: 578

% Daily Value *
** Total Fat 64.2g 99 %
** Saturated Fat 38.4g 192 %
** Cholesterol 387mg 129 %
** Sodium 1417mg 57 %
** Potassium 266mg 7 %
** Total Carbohydrates 32.5g 10 %
** Dietary Fiber 1.4g 6 %
** Protein 45.3g 91 %
** Sugars 3.7g
** Vitamin A 40 %
** Vitamin C 0 %
** Calcium 139 %
** Iron 41 %
** Thiamin 21 %
** Niacin 91 %
** Vitamin B6 14 %
** Magnesium 21 %
** Folate 64 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.