Madame Cristo, I Presume

I was attempting to do a little twist on the venerable Croque Madame, by soaking the toast in a custard batter before frying, instead of topping it with the usual white sauce, but when I�d finished, I realized what I really had created was a Monte Cristo with a poached egg on top. These things will happen.

It was amazingly delicious, but I decided it wasn�t close enough to call a Croque Madame, which is when I turned to Twitter for help. This is never a good idea, but this time it totally worked out, as some dude who goes by the name, Zap Shakur (@zapshakur), suggested I go with �Madame Cristo,� and the rest is history.

If you�re just making one or two, feel free to poach your eggs right before the sandwiches are done, but for larger parties, you�ll want to check out this poached egg video, which shows a great make-ahead method for serving multiple poached eggs at the same time. This is exactly how it�s done in restaurants, where cooking to order would be virtually impossible.

If you are feeding a larger group, you can make your sandwiches ahead, and then just keep them in a warm oven, until you're ready to top with the poached eggs. But, whether you�re making this for two or twenty, I really do hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 Madame Cristos:

4 slices white bread, lightly toasted

8 thin slices of Gruyere, Swiss, Cheddar, Havarti, or any other melting cheese

4 ounces thinly sliced honey baked ham or similar meat product

2 tablespoons butter for pan frying

2 poached or fried eggs to top

chives to garnish

For the egg batter:

2 large eggs

5 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

pinch of nutmeg and cayenne

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest