About 8 of us had talked about getting together for lunch, and as many things happen, only four could get together on the Set Date.  But that’s okay, because a)things happen as they are supposed to happen and b)we will certainly be doing this again. And again.

So it came to pass that The Beloved and I made the 1 1/2-ish hour drive to Greensboro to meet Rebecca from Chow and Chatter, Lynn from Order in the Kitchen and Ilke from Ilke’s Kitchen at a fairly swanky looking place called Print Works Bistro.

Ilke brought along her beloved as well, so we had the boys sit facing each other so the girls could all do Blogging things like giggling and taking pictures of food and laughing and sharing and snickering.  (Turns out Ilke’s beloved has done some brewing, so my Beloved invited him to brew in Charlotte later this month. And he’s coming! Fun!  I’m hoping that Ilke will be able to come as well to hang out with the Brewing Widows, chatting, snacking and drinking wine while the boys brew and do other Manly Things).

Ilke and her Beloved. I see beer widow-hood in her future!

Hi, Rebecca and Lynn!

I could go on and on about what a great time we had. About how sincerely sweet and funny Ilke is. About how Rebecca is just as delightful and interactive in real life as she is on social media. About how Lynn is simply hilarious with a self-deprecating sense of humor. But that’s not why I’m here.

I’m here to talk about the food.

Which was good. Not great.  But my meal did give me an Idea, and for that, I thank it. Thank you, meal.

I ordered a Croque Madame. A Croque Madame is kinda like a Croque Monsieur which, like many foods with French names, is not quite as exciting as one might think.  A Croque Monsieur is a grilled ham and cheese sammich.  A Croque Madame is the same sammich topped with a poached egg and often some bechamel sauce.  And Print Works offered a Croque Madame, complete with bechamel and home fries. And who doesn’t like to cut into a beautifully poached egg so that the yolk helps to sauce the dish, right?

Well, they brought her out, and she was Huge. I mean, she was Enormous!  I didn’t exactly whip out a tape measure, but the bread was easily 4″x6″.  For those using the metric system, that qualifies as Big Ass Slices. And she was stuffed with about a 3/4″ stack (2-ish cm) of thinly shaved mild ham. And she had a ton of melted cheese on top–not in the sammich with the ham, mind you. On top.  And the egg–2 eggs!–which I had expected and becham…Wait a minute.  You’re not bechamel sauce. You’re Hollandaise sauce!  Quite the surprise. Not that I don’t love Hollandaise, but it’s mostly egg yolk and butter. On cheese. With egg. Yowza.  The bechamel would’ve made the dish a bit lighter, but probably wouldn’t have done much to relieve the overall Muchness of her.

Well, friends. I had Trained for this brunch. I had only eaten one small piece of cheese All Morning Long, so I was good and hungry when we got to the restaurant. And even with all that training, I was only able to eat half. Half!  Because, did I mention, she was Huge?!  We all decided that my Croque Madame was quite the letdown.  I mean, she could’ve been alluring and voluptuous. But she overshot the mark and just went straight into Divine territory. Not like heavenly. This Divine.

I thought to myself yesterday, as we were pitching the other half–I mean, reheated Hollandaise? And not-completely-cooked egg yolk? Sorry. Divine, meet compost pail–that I could Prolly make a Croque Madame that would have a bit more zing. Something to cut through all the fattiness.  So I did. And it was. Zingier.

Not that it was healthier necessarily. Don’t think that. If you want healthy, don’t make grilled cheese. But, as an occasional treat, it was filling and interesting and definitely hit the spot. Here’s how I made mine. Continue reading →