Croque Senor

cookingintherockies

8 years ago

A Southwest version of one of the greatest sandwiches ever invented. Green chili laced grilled cheese on steroids… Oh my… Croque Senor or Senorita.. take you pick.

I’m so excited! The Hatch green chilies have arrived! I got the “phone” call from my good friend Dave, aka “the Chili Guy” this week saying that he was starting his chili roasting this weekend! Whoopee! Seriously my favorite “foodie” time of year. I swung by the chili stand yesterday morning to get my first of many bushels of the green goodness for the year! I have to give Dave the kudos… He does the BEST roasting in Denver hands down. His roasting baskets are made to roast by hand, not those lame “electric” lazy roasting baskets. This way he can control the flame and the time that it takes to perfectly roast chilies! Trust me on this. Plus he is just a super fun guy. He makes waiting in line a great time. Stop by Wilmore Nursery (Just east of Broadway on County Line Rd) to get your chilies! You may even meet me. I love chatting about chili recipes with the customers! Always a good time. He will be roasting chilies Saturday’s and Sunday’s through September from 9-5! Stop by to get your chilies!

Given that I got my first bushel of Chilies yesterday, I had to, of course, make something with green chilies! Earlier this week I stopped in for breakfast at Pierre-Michel Bakery and Cafe and had a Croque Madam. Seriously one of the best sandwiches on the planet. It’s a huge grilled cheese sandwich with ham and a super decadent bachemal sauce. It’s seriously to die for, especially for us ham and cheese lovers. Pierre-Michel sure does it right for sure, so if you are down here in Highlands Ranch, you really do need to stop in to grab a bite. Besides beautiful dishes off the menu, his pastries are not only a work of art they are delicious! He sells out daily so get there early! I digressed.. Anyway, green chili. After having my delicious sandwich, I decided on making my own version. A Croque Senor (Senorita). Ha! I loaded up the bachemal sauce with green chilies and spices and instead of Swiss cheese, I used the super melty Monterrey Jack cheese. The result, a Southwestern version of the classic French sandwich. So good! You can break your diet for this one or maybe just an extra hour on the treadmill!

Enjoy!

Croque Senor

Recipe Type: Sanwich

Cuisine: Southwestern

Author: Heather Blake

Croque Senor or Senorita. With or without an egg! Deliciously decadent.

Ingredients

[br][b]For the Green Chili Bachemal[/b][br]
2 tbs butter
3 tbs flour
2 cups whole milk
2 tbs [url href=”http://www.cholula.com/” target=”_blank”]Cholula sauce[/url]
1/2 cup chopped green chilies
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp chili powder
2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
[br][b]For the sandwiches[/b][br]
8-10 slices good bread (I used Brioch but Texas Toast would also be great)
1/2-3/4 pound ham sliced (I used a honey ham)
8-10 slices Monterrey Jack cheese
Bachemal sauce
butter and olive oil
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
Fried eggs (optional)

Instructions

To make the Bachemal sauce, in a medium sized sauce pan, melt the butter. Add the flour, salt pepper, pepper, Cholula, chili powder and green chilies. Whisk for 2 minutes. Add the milk and continue whisking until the sauce becomes thick (about 5 minutes). Stir in the Monterrey Jack cheese until melted. Set heat to the lowest setting. (You will need to whisk again before assembling the sandwiches).
To assemble the sandwiches, put a dollop of the sauce on the bottom piece of bread and spread evenly. Add slices of ham and cheese slices. Top with the other piece of bread.
Heat up a large saute pan and melt 2-3 tbs of butter and 2-3 tbs of olive oil. Add the sandwiches and cook until browned on both sides. Remove and set aside.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the sandwiches on a cookie sheet. Top each sandwich with another dollop of bachemal sauce and spread evenly. Top each sandwich with about 1/4 cup of additional shredded Monterrey Jack cheese. Bake for 5 minuets and turn on broiler and cook until the cheese turns brown and bubbly.

Notes

If you want more green chili, add a couple of tablespoons over the ham and under the sliced cheese.[br][br]Optional, serve with a fried egg on top! Even more decadent…[br][br]Oh and one last thing, if you make this sandwich with croissants, you may go into a major food coma.

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