In the late fifties when I was still in single figures and short pants my sister D went off to the Cote d’Azure for a year as an au pair.
She came back full of the joys of the French climate, life style and food.
(As you can see this had a lasting effect on me and has had a fairly dramatic effect on my life choices)

One of the dishes Madame taught her to make was the French classic Croque Monsieur, this was to become a staple dish in my life and one which I often fed to my children as they were growing up.

A Croque, and there as many variations of this as there are of our staple dishes, is a cooked sandwich of ham and cheese.
(You only have to google in croque to see how many ways there of arranging these ingredients.)
The one which Madame taught D is the true one (of course) and I will give you the recipe at the end of this piece.

Last week, just before we went to France, we made a quick trip to Wexford to see the art exhibitions which are always good during the Opera Festival.
There I came across another of Putumayo‘s CDs, I had bought their French Cafe music a few years ago and this had directly led me to Sanseverino and to Brassens so I hoped that their French Playground music might lead me to a few songs I could sing to the new grand child when it arrives in January.

The CD has several great songs- mostly concerned with food-but one that had instant appeal was one by Thomas Fersen called Croque.
This is about a grave digger and his voracious appetite for food.
(You can listen to the whole song on You Tube)

Here is a verse;

Moi je mange comme quatre
Et je bois comme un trou
Puis je retourne au cimetière
Travailler d’mon mieux,
Digérer mon pot de bière
Et mon croque-monsieur.

This roughly says that, as he eats -and drinks-for four, after a hard days work in the graveyard he can’t wait to get home to his pint of beer and his Croque.

Yesterday we had a fairly tough day’s travelling back from France, and by the time we got to the end of it I felt much the same.

We left the house in Thezan at 6 am to get to Marseille for our flight at 10.
In Dublin we made a flying visit to see Sile’s folks in Tearmonfeckin and then found ourselves caught in the Halloween traffic on the M50 so didn’t get near Waterford until about 7.30 in the evening.
That was a long, and mainly unfed, 13 hours travelling.

I was playing my new CD in the car on the way down and became obsessed with the idea of having a Croque as soon as we got home.

We havn’t had one for ages, mainly I think because it is plainly very unfashionably unhealthy, but don’t let it stop you giving it a try every so often they are simple to make and delicious.

Here is the recipe for the one we enjoyed last night-about ten minutes after we got home.

Croque Monsieur.

(no amounts here, it depends on how many you want to feed and how voracious their appetite)

Brown Sliced Pan (nothing too fancy or it will fall apart)
Butter
Eggs
Good Cheddar Cheese- I used Dubliner which worked well
Slices cooked ham (smoked is best)
Olive Oil

Various mustards and chutneys to serve.

Butter the bread and make a sandwich with the ham and the sliced cheese.
Beat the eggs in a plate and lay the sandwich in this pressing down so that it absorbs the egg (you will need about two eggs for every three sandwiches)

Now heat the oil in a pan and fry the sandwiches until brown on both sides. Then lower the heat and cook until the cheese is melting.
If you have to do a lot you can brown them in a pan and then finish them together in a medium oven laid out on a baking sheet.

Serve on a plate with a knife and fork and mustard and chutney on the side.
Be warned, they are addictive!