Jacques’s Croque Madame Recipe

Yield: 1 sandwich.

INGREDIENTS

2 slices home-style white bread

1 tbs soft butter, or more if needed

2 or more slices swiss cheese (such as gruyère or emmentaler) about 1/8 inch

thick (enough to cover both bread slices)

several slices cooked chicken, about 1/8 inch thick (enough to cover one
bread slice)

1 tsp chopped fresh chives

dashes of tabasco sauce (optional)

special equipment

a cookie sheet or shallow-rimmed baking sheet, large enough to hold all the
sandwiches at once

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Spread a thin layer of soft butter on one side only of both bread slices,
then cover the buttered sides neatly with a layer of cheese. Arrange a layer
of chicken on one bread slice and sprinkle on the chives and a few dashes of
Tabasco, if you like. Flip the other piece of bread over on top (cheese
inside, of course), press together, and spread more butter on the outsides of
the sandwich, coating the slices evenly. Lay the assembled sandwich in the
baking dish and prepare others the same way.

Bake the sandwiches for 10 minutes or so, until the bottom sides are crisp
and golden. Flip them over and bake for about 5 minutes more, until the
second sides are also well toasted.

Serve hot. For appetizer portions, trim off the crusts and cut each sandwich
diagonally into 4 small triangles.

Tags: Croque, Jacquess, Madame, Recipe