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.