Some good times

Beau and I had a great weekend! As I said last week, Tanya, Carly and my mom came into town for a little visit. We had a great Friday night of grilling out and chatting and then out on the boat on Saturday with Donna. It was Tanya and Carly’s first time on a sail boat and they loved it! That evening us girls went to Coast for dinner. I think the ladies were happy with their meal, but I was pretty disappointed with not only the food, but the service. It’s no longer a place I’ll recommend. But YOBE! Wow, that was delicious. But ya’ll already know that from previous posts! Sunday was a great message brought to us by Buster Brown at ECBC and then onto the Old Village Post House for breakfast with Donna and friends of ours in town from NC, Joe and Joan. I wasn’t as happy with that food as I had been in the past. But everyone else seemed really happy with their dishes. Maybe I’m losing my touch for ordering the best thing on the menu? Or rather, I think I always end up ordering the best thing for Beau and then I find something else. He definitely had the best thing, hands down. Hmm….

 

All that to say, it was a great weekend all around.

 

“Best Thing on the Menu” Mushroom Croquet Monsieur

MORNAY SAUCE

1 ½ T butter

1 ½ T flour

1 ½ c whole milk

1 bay leaf

½ c finely grated Parmesan

Pinch nutmeg

Hot pepper sauce

 

SANDWICH

8 oz pkg crimini mushrooms, trimmed

7 T butter

2 T minced shallots

12 ½ inch thick slices egg bread (such as challah)

6 thin ham slices

12 oz Gruyere cheese, 9 oz thinly sliced, 3 oz grated (can substitute Swiss)

2 T Parmesan

Fresh tarragon leaves (optional)

*6 fried eggs (explanation at the bottom)

 

SAUCE

Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour; stir until pale golden, about 2 minutes. Whisk in milk. Add bay leaf. Increase heat to medium-high; whisk until mixture begins to boil. Reduce heat o medium; stir until sauce coats back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cheese and nutmeg. Season with hot sauce, salt and pepper.

 

Place mushrooms in processor. Using on/off turns, process until finely chopped. Melt 3 T butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushroom sand shallots; stir until mushrooms are browned and dry, about 8 minutes. Transfer to plate to cool.

 

Preheat broiler. Spread remaining butter over 1 side of bread slices. Place bread, buttered side up, on baking sheet. Broil until golden. Cool. Preheat oven to 450. Top with ham and slices of cheese. Top with bread and broil. Press to compress. Spread about 2 T sauce over sandwiches, leaving ½ inch plain border. Divide mushroom mixture atop sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.

 

Bake sandwiches until cheese inside melts and otp turns golden, about 10 minutes. Top with tarragon.

 

*You can put a fried egg in the middle of the sandwich before topping with the other slice of bread and the cheese. This is the way Beau’s sandwich was at the Old Village Post House. Really fabulous.