Croque Monsieur Recipe

Posted at 2:31 AM


So.


I first heard of Croque Monsieur while playing a Nancy Drew game.
I was interrogating an eccentric French photographer at a cafe and he bought me a plate of THAT.
Damn good.

I didn't get to taste it, but Nancy did.
And it looked GOOD.

So.

I got a recipe just so I can taste it myself.

Croque Monsieur means hot ham and cheese-grilled sandwich.
I prefer emmental cheese.

____________________________________________________________________

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound ziti
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 cups coarsely grated gruyere cheese(about 6 ounces)
  • 1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese (about 4 ounces)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 slices white sandwich bread, roughly diced
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • Kosher salt
  • 8 ounces thinly sliced deli-boiled ham

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Add the ziti and cook until al dente, about 6 minutes.

Drain and transfer to a large bowl; toss with 1/4 cup milk.

Meanwhile, combine both cheeses in a bowl.

Beat 1/4 cup milk and the eggs in another bowl, fold in the bread and add half of the cheese.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over high heat.

Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until just brown, 2 minutes.

Sprinkle in the flour, cayenne, nutmeg and 1 teaspoon Kosher salt; cook, stirring, about 2 minutes.

Slowly add 3/4 cup water and the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk; bring to a boil, stirring until thickened.

Remove from the heat and whisk to cool slightly.

Whisk in the remaining cheese, then add the pasta and toss.

Butter a shallow casserole dish. Add half of the pasta, top with some of the ham and cover with the remaining pasta.

Top with the remaining ham, then cover with the bread mixture.

Bake until golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes.

Let rest a few minutes before serving.

Photograph by Antonis Achilleos

Evil House 1 (continued)

Posted at 10:35 PM

Interior of House 1: The Evil Tower




Like FUYOH, rite?



The EVIL entrance.


This place is actually a water control system in Tokyo. Got featured on National Geographic.

Evil House 1

Posted at 10:10 PM

So. This will be the beginning of a series of photos of architecture I would want my future home to emulate. This is...House 1: The Evil Tower. heheh.

Photo taken by Martin Isaac, collection: I Love Carbuncles.

Posted at 10:05 PM

How sexy can an exploding liquid get? Photo by Rich Hendry taken from a collection entitled "Liquids". Aptly named.

Retro Bug

Posted at 9:37 PM































Got bitten by the Retro Bug.

Damien Vassart

Posted at 9:21 PM

Bibliotheque Nationale



Place de la Concorde



Tour Eiffel



Musee de Louvre



Pont Royal & Louvre



Ile de la Cite





Paris by Damien Vassart. For more, visit photography served

The Little Delights of Antics on Impulse

Posted at 10:24 PM

1) My Detour With My Sister To One World Hotel
Broke into One World Hotel at midnight
Ran into tourists
Made faces at surveillance cameras in an empty spa room
2) My Bimbo Moment With Friends At The KDU Coffee Machine
We snuck out of the hall during a rival school's debate round 1
Ogled at boys clearly a little too old for us
Performed slapstick comedy in front of a coffee machine and the college security guard, and some African students

Elaborating on said slapstick drama,...
It wasn't planned.
It was entirely my fault.
I'm glad I had a bimbo moment.

Basically, it went like this:
Sue Ann : Ah I need coffee.
Yen Yen : Yeah me too.
Vicky : Yuck you all drink coffee?
Sue Ann : You don't drink lah. (Inserts coins and presses the button that says "Espresso")
Vicky : Hey...There's no cup!
Sue Ann : What?! (Looks around, panicking)
Yen Yen : Oh my gosh...It ate your money...Hey! (Points at lone cup atop the machine) Are you supposed to take that?
Vicky : No! Someone used it and put it there!
Sue Ann : I think its meant for us to take...Look, it's clean and empty. (Puts cup underneath machine's nozzle)

...Seconds later, machine makes whirring noise, pushes out a new cup onto our previously placed cup, and starts literally spitting coffee into it.

Vicky : What the! Two cups?
Sue Ann : (Retrieves double cup and starts to drink)

...Sue Ann chokes and gurgles.

Yen Yen : What's wrong?
Sue Ann : Ants! In my coffee! The machine's breeding ants!
Vicky : Ok throw that muck away.
Sue Ann : No way! I paid for it!
Yen Yen : Yeah Vic. Waste not. Besides, it's just ants.
Vicky : No No NO! You can't drink it with ants in it! Imagine...ERGH!
Sue Ann : Ok fine! (Slips out second cup from the first) I'll take 'em out ok? (Attempts to scoop dead ants out from muck with second cup)
Yen Yen : (Stares on wide-eyed)
Vicky : Still...it may have ant essence mixed into it... (Snatches scooper-cup from Sue Ann) Lemme do it. You suck at scooping. (Geniusly flattens mouth of scooper-cup, then attempts scooping)

...5 minutes later

Sue Ann : Dude!
Vicky : DUDE! How can I scoop when you keep doing that? Slant it a little...that's right. NOW I can scoop. No- Eh Eh NO!!! No! Ahrk-
Yen Yen : (Guffaws)
Sue Ann : Wh- HaHa!
Vicky : (Blushing)
Yen Yen : With ant essence!
Vicky : (Snatches muck from still-laughing-Sue Ann and does Teh Tarik to get rid of said dead ants. Spills remainder of muck on remainder of unstained pinafore)

...African students and security guard stand and watch drama - 3 girls cow-laughing.

The end. :D