Cuisine & Screen: Home Edition, Part 20

I have been doing these at home posts for 20 weeks now. That is absolutely insane. Eventually, I'll get back to writing about restaurants and new releases, but in the meantime, this has been super fun, so thank you all for humoring me! I'd love to hear what you've been cooking and any fun recipes you have discovered or been inspired to make. And just in case you were wondering, my bunnies are still hopping around.

CUISINE
I absolutely love French food, particularly a good Croque Madame. I had one for the first time about 10 years ago in Paris, and the magic of that sandwich has stuck with me ever since. I decided to try my hand at it, and it's incredibly comforting and easy. (Side note - if you omit the egg on top, you've made a Croque Monsieur.)

-2 slices white bread (like a Country White, not Sourdough)
-2 TB butter, divided
-2 slices ham
-1 cup of gruyere cheese, shredded and divided
-dijon or whole grain mustard
-1 egg

Melt 1/2 TB of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add both slices of bread, and let them get nice and toasty. Meanwhile, preheat your broiler. Remove the bread from the pan, flip them over, and spread some mustard on the toasted side. (I like to toast the inside of my bread for texture and it helps the cheese melt!) Layer your ham and half of the cheese on one of the mustard-topped slices, then top with the other mustard-topped toasted side. Melt another 1/2 TB of butter in the skillet, and add your sando. Once that gets nice and toasty after a few minutes, carefully lift it to add in another 1/2 TB of butter, then flip and griddle the other side. Once that side is toasted to your liking, remove the sando from the skillet. Top with the remaining cheese and place on a sheet pan. Put it in the oven and broil for about 5 minutes - keep your eye on it. Broilers can deceive you! Meanwhile, melt your final 1/2 TB of butter in the same skillet, and crack an egg in. Season with S&P and cook to your liking - sunny side up is a dramatic presentation, but if your heart prefers fried over medium, do you. Remove the sandwich from the oven, then slide that egg on top. Eat with a knife and fork alongside a glass of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Bon appetit!

This did not have nearly enough cheese, so I increased the amount in the recipe above!

SCREEN

Palm Springs - Definitely a unique concept, and reminiscent of a classic 80s movie I won't mention, so as to not spoil the plot. If you're a fan of Andy Samberg, you'll particularly like the quirky, dry humor. Great supporting cast, and his chemistry with Cristin Milioti is on point. I thought the movie was also shot beautifully - vivid colors, great cinematography - very enjoyable overall.

The English Patient - Yowza. Winning 9 Oscars in 1997, I always remember my family talking about this epic romance being a fabulous, heart-wrenching film, just long AF. I was too young to see it when it came out, but I recently plowed my way through, and thought it was very good, but maybe not 9 Oscars-good? The cinematography was excellent and I thought Juliette Binoche stole the show, but I don't know that it holds up extraordinarily well 23 years later.