Alex's Kitchen. Алекс Рэй
course, it is French! This kind of sandwich is very popular in France, especially Paris. It was invented some more than a hundred years ago.
Why does it have such a strange name? Some people say that one jester innkeeper joked in such a way about himself as if he was cannibal. Other story tells about French word with meaning ‘to crunch’ and monsieur as a French man… OK, we won’t look for the roots – we will do our croquet monsieur!
For making croque monsieur you need:
TOAST BREAD
2 pieces
CHEESE
(GRUYERE DESIRABLE)
2 slices
HAM
1 slice
OIL FOR FRYING
1 tsp
When you got all of this, you should:
put one slice of cheese on one piece of bread
put slice of ham on cheese
put the second slice of cheese
cover it with the second slice of bread
pour oil into a frying-pan and heat it
NOTICE: be attentive when stand near hot frying-pan with heated oil!
put sandwich into frying-pan and fry for three minutes
NOTICE: watch bread not to burn
turn over croquet monsieur and fry it for more three minutes, then put on a dish
NOTICE: When you add to your croque monsieur fried egg, you get croque madam!
Bon appetite!
TARTLET
Tartlet is a kind of sandwich with no bread – there is a little baked basket instead of it. They are made of short dough – word ‘tartlet’ came from French ‘tartelette’ – small pastry. Nowadays they are much more closer to sandwiches than to cakes, although European cookery uses to fill tartlets with sweet fillings.
Tartlets are both nice and simple as they are ready-to-use: you can buy set of them in any grocery. Let’s try to surprise your parents, making tartlets in Slavic style!
For making tartlets with chicken and mushrooms, you need:
SET OF TARTLETS
10 or 12 usually
CHICKEN MEAT
500 g
FIELD MUSHROOMS
300 g
EGGS
3 pieces
ONION
1 piece
MAYONNAISE
2 tbsp
OIL
1½ tbsp
GREEN DILL
2 springs
When everything is ready, you should:
pour 1 liter of water with 1 tsp of salt into a pot
when seethed, put chicken into pot, boil for twenty minutes and then take it from pot and put on a plate
put eggs into another pot, pour 1 liter of water, let them seethe for eight minutes and then put them in a cold water
cut onion finely and mushrooms into cubes of 0.5 centimeter
pour oil into frying-pan and heat it
NOTICE: be careful both with knife and with hot oil!
fry mushrooms with onion for 5 minutes stirring every minute
NOTICE: Mushrooms are blushed and onion becomes transparently yellowish when ready
cut chicken and eggs into cubes of 0.5 centimeter
put chicken, eggs and mushrooms with onion into a plate
add mayonnaise and mix thoroughly
fill tartlets with mixing of chicken, eggs, mushrooms and onion
tear dill springs and strew tartlets
NOTICE: tartlets are delicate so you should serve them in 10-15 minutes
Bon appetite!
HAMBURGER
Hamburger is a high-class of sandwich cookery. It means that we cook it if we have already cooked all other collations of this chapter. I can explain such a severe tone: sandwiches, canapés, etc. are made of READY-TO-USE ingredients whereas hamburger needs TWO steps: first, making burger for it, and second, building the hamburger.
Those who make word ‘hamburger’ of burger and ham are mistaken. This meal came from German immigrants to America. Hamburg is one of the biggest cities of Germany, so people who lived there were called hamburgers. One of them opened it luncheonette serving meat cutlets in rolls. Soon ‘White Castle’ canteen began to sell hamburgers that became its trademark.
Today you can taste hamburgers of McDonald’s, KFC’s and many other fast food restaurants. Doctors consider this meal unhealthy, but it is one of the most popular dishes all over the world. Don’t you mind if we cook classic hamburgers for your family?
For making ‘family’ hamburgers you need:
BREAD ROLLS
3 pieces
MINCED MEAT
400 g
TOMATO
1 piece
PICKLED CUCUMBER
1 piece
VIOLET