Fu$%(ng Croque Madame Casserole

I have to give Paula Deen credit for this one, this woman knows what she's doing and I love her (even with all of the diabetes and butter). You know that question, "if you could have dinner with anyone in the world (let's say in the culinary world) who would you choose?"  I would certainly choose Paula Deen, my mother and Julia Child.  There would be red wine, mint juleps, things covered in chocolate and rich sauces, and everyone would pee themselves from laughter, but I digress.  I was going to brunch at my mother's house and I made this Croque Madame Casserole, it is absolutely delicious.

What you'll need:
6 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, plus 2 tablespoons for eggs (I DID tell you I got this from Paula Deen)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon pepper, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
10 to 12 slices white bread (I used a large loaf of French bread)
3/4 pound deli ham
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated Gruyere, reserve some for top of casserole
6 eggs (I skipped this part, but will include it in the directions)

Now get crackin':

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and grease your 8-inch square baking dish.

Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over low heat until bubbling. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until thick and bubbling, 3 to 5 minutes more, be patient with this, don't turn the heat up and burn it and don't under-cook it, nobody wants a chunk of raw flour in their casserole. Whisk in the mustard, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

 Pour a thin layer of the sauce into the prepared baking dish and cover it with 5 or 6 slices of the bread, then slices of the ham and an even layer of the Gruyere. Repeat the layers once more, ending with a third layer of sauce to cover all. Bake the casserole for 30 minutes. Remove it from the oven and cut into 6 equal pieces.

Working in 2 batches, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Crack 3 eggs into the skillet and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until the whites are nearly set, about 3 minutes. Carefully flip the eggs and continue cooking until the whites are completely set, about 1 minute more.
Repeat with the remaining 3 eggs and 1 tablespoon butter. Top each slice of casserole with a fried egg.  I skipped this final step because I know I'd show up to my mom's and there would be eight other things to eat, which there was. It was perfect without the eggs, but I image it would be heavenly after slicing through a runny egg yolk.  This is a casserole that will please even your fanciest of brunch crowds.

Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am currently obsessed with all that is coconut.  I'm always looking for ways to sneak it into whatever sweets I can, although I'm completely aware that not everyone is as jazzed about it as I am, but I certainly don't care.  These cookies had the perfect coconut texture and flavor. They also combined two of my favorite things, chocolate and coconut, a combination only second to peanut butter and chocolate.

Ingredients:
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes 
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 
3/4 cup granulated sugar 
3/4 cup packed brown sugar 
1 teaspoon almond extract (I was in the mood for it, feel free to use vanilla)
2 large eggs
2 cups mini chocolate chips

First step, toasting your coconut.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spread the coconut evenly over an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.  If you like yours a little more or a little less brown, adjust to your pleasure.  Set coconut aside and make the cookie dough.

Bump your oven up to 375. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and almond extract in large mixer bowl until it's nice and smooth. An important note about softening butter for cookies, NEVER completely melt your butter, completely melted butter will make your cookies flat, simply soften it. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Turn off your beater and add mini chocolate chips and 3/4-1 cup of the toasted coconut. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets, I use one of those fancy spring-loaded scoopers and it makes the cookies turn out grocery store uniformed.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. I like my cookies soft, so I kept it around 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes and place on wire racks to cool completely.  Pour yourself a large glass of milk (I went for the new So Delicious coconut milk) and enjoy, your fiance might laugh at you while you "mmmmmm," from the room next door.