The book calls these "waffle tartines". But, looking at the recipe, they're basically open-faced croque monsieurs served on waffles instead of bread. Given that, I decided to add an egg to mine to make them heartier and turn them into waffle croque madames. They were quite good. I may actually prefer the waffle version to the traditional bread-based rendition.

Waffle Croque Madames

Slightly adapted from Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1 c. milk
• 145g gruyère cheese, shredded, divided
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/16 tsp. ground cayenne
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 plain waffles
• 360g sliced ham
• 4 large eggs
• mustard and gherkins, to serve

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250°C (475°F).
2. Melt the butter over medium heat.
3. Mix in the flour and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes.
4. Gradually pour in the milk while whisking.
5. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, whisking often, until thickened (~5 minutes).
7. Remove from heat and stir in 60g of the cheese.
8. Mix in the nutmeg and cayenne and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
9. Fry the eggs, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper, until the whites are just set.
10. Place the waffles on a lined baking sheet and top with the ham, followed by the mornay sauce and an egg, and finally the remaining cheese.
11. Bake at 250°C (475°F) until cheese has melted (1-2 minutes).
12. Serve with grainy mustard and gherkins (or other pickles of your choice.