Croque-Madame Pizza and The Monuments Men

Hello and welcome to Pizza and a Movie on Djalali Cooks. After sharing a recap of my Paris Trip earlier this week, I am continuing my unofficial French theme with a Croque-Madame Pizza. Sandwiches naturally lend themselves to be reimagined as a pizza. So to recreate a sandwich I enjoyed at Flottes on Rue Cambon in Paris, today we have béchamel sauce with ham and gruyere cheese baked to golden and topped with a few fried eggs. Let’s do it!

First preheat the oven to 450 degrees F with a pizza stone or steel. Now, let’s make a small batch of béchamel sauce. One tablespoon butter, one tablespoon flour and 2/3 cup 1/2 & 1/2 is all we need. We will season with a little nutmeg and kosher salt to taste. This will make enough sauce for two pizzas.

Béchamel Sauce

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is melted and foamy, whisk in the flour to make a thick, pasty mixture. Then whisk in the 1/2 & 1/2, whisk until smooth. Continue whisking and cooking the sauce until it thickens to a thick, creamy consistency.

Sprinkle with a pinch of ground nutmeg and season with kosher salt to taste. Set the béchamel sauce aside.

Assemble the Croque-Madame Pizza

We have freshly grated gruyere cheese and thinly sliced deli ham. Roll, stretch or spin your dough out to about 12-inches, on a lightly floured pizza peel.

Use a silicone spatula to spread a thin layer of the béchamel sauce over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border for the crust. Then, layer the ham in a single layer, over the sauce.

Cover the ham with the grated gruyere. And we are ready for the oven.

While the pizza is baking, we can fry a few eggs to top what would otherwise be a Croque-Monsieur. If you want to do a Croque-Monsieur pizza instead, stop right here, you’re good to go! But to make it a Madame, we will add the egg.

I love a fried egg on a pizza, but one thing that always is sad for me is that the single egg is always in the center and it’s only the tip of the slice that gets the saucy, runny yolk. So sad. To ensure this pizza gets a good amount of egg in every bite, we will fry three eggs.

Fry three eggs in a nonstick pan with a bit of butter until they are done to your liking. I like runny yolks and don’t mind a little undercooked white. Let the eggs cook, pull out the pizza when it’s golden and the cheese is melted, bubbly and beginning to brown. Then slide the eggs out of the pan, directly onto the pizza.

Croque-Madame Pizza

Top with black pepper if you like, slice and serve!

This Croque-Madame Pizza is a great take on the original sandwich. All the flavors are there; savory ham with the nutty gruyere and the creamy béchamel is a perfect combination. The runny-yolk egg makes it a little saucy and all the more rich. A great pizza!

Movie Night: The Monuments Men

We have our Croque-Madame Pizza ready so let’s get to the movie. The Monuments Men is a 2014 film based on the book of the same name, written by Robert Edsel. This is the true story of the American and European art experts who became officers in the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives section of Allied forces during World War II. The Monuments Men were tasked with protecting bridges and buildings, searching for and recovering fine art objects that were stolen and hidden by the Nazis.

Directed by, and starring George Clooney, the movie features an all star cast including Matt Damon, John Goodman, Bill Murray and Cate Blanchett. A feel-good buddy movie; a WWII period piece based on the historical facts of a unique and important part of the war – The Monuments Men is an inspirational movie that reminds us of the importance of our cultural heritage as human beings. The line spoken by Clooney’s character sums it up perfectly: “If you destroy an entire generation of peoples’ culture, it’s as if they never existed.” A fantastic movie, I highly recommend you give it a watch. The Monuments Men is available to watch with premium subscriptions to Hulu, YouTube, Starz, Sling, Amazon. And available to rent on Apple TV, Google Play and Redbox.

Thanks so much for joining me today for Pizza and a movie, in case you missed another great, yet simple French sandwich I enjoyed while I was in France, try the Saucisson Beurre Baguette Sandwich. Have a great weekend! Take care and be well. xo Kelly

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Croque-Madame Pizza

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Dinner, Main Course – American/French-inspired

By Kelly Djalali – Serves: 2-4

Prep Time: 15 Minutes – Cooking Time: 15 Minutes – Total Time: ~30 Minutes

Reimagining the classic French Croque-Madame Sandwich, our pizza features béchamel sauce, ham and Gruyere cheese, topped with a fried egg.

Ingredients

• Béchamel Sauce
• 1 tbsp. Butter
• 1 tbsp. All Purpose Flour
• 2/3 cup 1/2 &1/2
• Nutmeg, Kosher Salt to taste
• Croque-Madame Pizza
• 1 Prepared Pizza Dough
• 6-8 Slices Deli Ham
• 1 cup Grated Gruyere Cheese
• 3-4 Eggs, fried in butter
• Black Pepper, to taste

Instructions

Béchamel Sauce

1

First preheat the oven to 450 degrees F with a pizza stone or steel.

2

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is melted and foamy, whisk in the flour to make a thick, pasty mixture. Then whisk in the 1/2 & 1/2, whisk until smooth. Continue whisking and cooking the sauce until it thickens to a creamy, thick consistency.

3

Sprinkle with a pinch of ground nutmeg and season with kosher salt to taste. Set the béchamel sauce aside.

Croque-Madame Pizza

4

Roll, stretch or spin your dough out to about 12-inches, on a lightly floured pizza peel.

5

Use a silicone spatula to spread a thin layer of the béchamel sauce over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border for the crust. Then, layer the ham in a single layer, over the sauce.

6

Cover the ham with the grated gruyere. And we are ready for the oven.

7

While the pizza is baking, fry three eggs in a nonstick pan with a bit of butter, over medium-heat until they are done to your liking.

8

Pull out the pizza when it's golden and the cheese is melted, bubbly and beginning to brown.

9

Then slide the eggs out of the pan, directly onto the pizza.

10

Top with black pepper if you like, slice and serve!