Breakfast
The Blue Madame
Vintners Resort
4350 Barnes Road
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
www.vintnersinn.com
- RECIPE YEAR: 2013
- RECIPE BY: Casey Stone
- YIELD: Serves 4
At Vintners Inn, we have a signature blueberry jam infused with orange liqueur and vanilla bean. I added it to a classic French dish that's perfect for brunch, the Croque Madame, made with toasted sourdough, ham and Gruyère topped with a Mornay sauce and broiled. I thought the sweetness and round flavor of the jam would offset the salty ham and cut the richness of the sauce. Thus, the Blue Madame.
Ingredients:
- 6 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 pound Gruyère cheese, grated
- 8 slices sourdough bread, toasted
- 1/2 cup blueberry jam
- 4 thick slices ham
- 4 slices Gruyère cheese
- 4 eggs
Directions:
To prepare the Mornay sauce, in a small saucepan, melt 2 1/2 tablespoons of the butter. Whisk in the flour and cook until the mixture comes together, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the grated cheese until melted. Preheat the broiler. Place 4 slices of the toast on a half sheet pan and spread the top of each slice with 2 tablespoons blueberry jam. Top each with 1 slice of ham, followed by 1 slice of cheese. Place the toasts under the broiler until the cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Cover each sandwich with 1 of the remaining slices of toast. Spoon a generous amount of sauce over each. Broil until the sauce is bubbling and browned, about 3 minutes. In a nonstick fry pan, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Crack the eggs into the pan and cook them sunny-side up until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny. Season with salt and pepper, and top each sandwich with an egg. Then enjoy!
