Week 3 :: Appetizer (Mon Cher Croque-Monsieur)

When I was staying at my uncle's house in Austria nearly seven years ago, one of my favourite things to eat for lunch was "ein Toast," another name for what the French call a "croque-monsieur," a gorgeously simple but beautifully comforting grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich. One of the most delicious croque-monsieurs I ever ate was at an Austrian train station café in 2007: when you're abroad, especially while you are in transit, there's something really quite wonderful about knowing that the ultimate comfort food (and rather nutritionally balanced, given the bread/cheese/meat combination) is readily available to you.

But the croque-monsieur is about much more than grilled cheese. There's something decadent about eating light but flavourful Prosciutto di Parma and sharp and bubbly Gruyère harmoniously grilled between two thick slices of sourdough bread; the elegance of the finely selected ingredients turns a simple sandwich into a gourmet delight.

Ingredients aside--there are days when any sliced bread, ham, and even processed cheddar cheese will do, and indeed, have a sense of simplicity to them--the most heartwarming part of making a grilled cheese sandwich (ham or no ham) is discovering the little bubbles of cheese that have flowed over onto the hot grill or pan and are nearly burnt to a delicate crispness. That's something you can't choreograph--the dollops of cheese must spill over randomly and of their own volition, decorating the border of your sandwich as if it were one Pollock's haphazard canvases.