Croque madame

Melt 30 g butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; stir in 10 g flour and cook about a minute until the raw edge is gone.

Add 240 g milk and bring to a simmer; it thickens slightly but stays thin.

Drop the heat to lowest and melt in the Gruyere and Parmesan slowly, stirring, until smooth and satiny.

Off the heat stir in 5 g salt, a pinch of white pepper and about a quarter teaspoon of grated nutmeg; cover and keep warm.

Cut the bread about three quarters of an inch thick.

Preheat a 12 inch saute pan over medium, a small non-stick pan over medium low, and the oven to 375F.

Melt three to four tablespoons of butter in the non-stick pan and brush it liberally on both sides of the bread.

Toast the bread in the saute pan about a minute, pressing it down with a spatula.

Flip; on the toasted side lay two very thin slices of ham and one thin slice of young Gruyere on each piece; let the second side cook gently.

Fry the egg in the buttered non-stick pan over medium with a generous pinch of salt on the yolk, 20 to 30 seconds until the bottom white sets.

Put the egg pan and the sandwich pan in the 375F oven for 60 seconds, until the white is set, the yolk sunny side up, and the cheese melted.

Loosen the mornay over low heat, stirring.

Close the sandwich melty sides together, plate, top with three to four tablespoons of mornay, the egg, a few pinches of chives and a few cracks of black pepper.