RECIPE: Croque Monsieur Pour Vous et le Pup

— -- FOUR SERVINGS

4 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 cup whole milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Pinch ground or grated nutmeg (for people's sammies only)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (for people's sammies only)
8 slices sandwich bread
8 slices deli ham
8 slices Gruyère or Swiss cheese

1. In a small saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season the sauce with salt to taste. Reserve one-quarter of the sauce for the dog's sammy. Season the remaining sauce with the pepper and nutmeg and whisk in the mustard.

2. Spread one side each of 6 bread slices with the people's sauce. Use to make 3 sammies with 2 slices each of ham and cheese. Spread the remaining 2 bread slices with the dog's sauce and then assemble the sammy using the remaining ham and cheese; keep separate.

3. In a large skillet, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Add the sammies and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides, about 4 minutes total. Chop up the pup's sammy and let cool, but eat yours hot!