A Croque-Madame Dressed Up With Crab
'Every Francophile has eaten a croque-monsieur, the French rendition of a grilled cheese sandwich. You can get one in any cafe or buy one from a bakery, ready to heat and heat. It is, for all intents, a hot ham and cheese sandwich, the top spread with a layer of creamy béchamel sauce and grated cheese, then broiled until golden and bubbly.
You eat a croque-monsieur served on a little plate, at a little table or standing at the bar, with a knife and fork. A croque-madame is exactly the same, with a fried egg on top. Why is it madame when it has an egg? No one really knows. Some think it looks like a 19th-century chapeau, but evidently it wasn’t ever called madame until 1960. At any rate, “madame” sounds more elegant than “put an egg on it.”'>>>
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/24/dining/croque-madame-recipe-with-crab.html?
