Ham and Gruyere French Bread Pizza

Besides doing 30 minute meals, Rachael Ray is also known for having countless hamburger recipes, even going so far as to dub herself Queen of the Burgers.  You can add French Bread pizza recipes to that list as well.  We’ve made her Nacho Bread Pizza, the Mega Meatball, the Bacon Avocado and Watercress Griddle Pizza, the Carbonara Pizza, the Cheese and Caramelized Onion Pizza, the Smoked Salmon Pizza and her Really French, French Bread Pizza (my favorite I think).  Geesh, now that I’m looking at the list, perhaps she should write a pizza cookbook next!  Over the weekend, we checked another one off the list…  Ham and Gruyere French Bread Pizza.  A recipe from the May 2008 issue of her magazine, Every Day with Rachael Ray, I ripped this out ages ago to make.  There happened to be a fish recipe on the other side, and I made that first and promptly forgot about the pizza recipe.  That was, until my friend Madeline mentioned it recently.  Up to the top of the pile it went.

Now technically Rachael calls this recipe French Bread Pizza.  To me, that’s a tad misleading since it’s on French Bread, that name gives no description about the actual pizza itself, so we’re going to call it Ham and Gruyere Pizza around this neck of the woods, thankyouverymuch.  For those that are quick to protest that her recipes take longer than 30 minutes, this is a good one to tackle.  I had it tabled in 20.

Now the taste.  In a word… good.  If I made it again, I would add just a smidge of white wine to the white sauce because to me, the white sauce and Gruyere scream fondue, and fondue screams alcohol.  Just sayin’.  Gruyere tends to be a little pricey, so if you want to go budget, you can substitute Swiss or Jarslberg, or go with a nice mix.  I used the Gruyere, and although the recipe doesn’t state it, you’ll need roughly half a pound to shred enough for the two cups it calls for.  That will save you guessing at the cheesemonger like I was this weekend. 

At twelve bucks a pound, you’re using about six dollars worth of cheese, and you could do worse.  All told, maybe the recipe comes in around $12-13 or so to make, and it makes a lot, so that’s not terrible.  We had enough for The Husband and I for dinner (Nicholas took one look at it and explained to me that he could be a big help by eating leftovers), and enough for my parents the next night.  “Mom, look at how full the refrigerator is.  I can eat something from there so you have more space.”  Sneaky little thing.

This would be perfect for an in-home movie night.  Make a couple of pizzas with the kids, pop some popcorn and enjoy what’s left of school-starts-next-week freedom.

Hungry for more pizza recipes?
101 Cookbooks has the recipe for the Best Pizza Dough Ever.
My favorite farmgirl has recipe for a Tomato Pesto Pizza.
You can find a Cilantro Chili Pizza at Brownie Points.
And Paris-based David Lebovitz has the very unusual Cocoa Nib and Spiced Lamb Sausage Pizza.

A year ago today… Cocktail Napkin Memories.
Two years ago today… writing for Cooking Light.
Three years ago today… nothing.

Tomorrow?  Supper Club!

Ham and Gruyere French Bread Pizza
Recipe courtesy of Every Day with Rachael Ray, May 2008

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup whole milk
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon honey mustard
1 baguette, split lengthwise and halved crosswise
1/2 pound deli-sliced ham, chopped
2 cups shredded gruyère cheese (about half-pound if you buy in block form)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a small saucepan, cook the butter and flour over medium-low heat, whisking, for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk, then season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and whisk in mustard.

2. Slather a quarter of the white sauce over each baguette quarter, then top with the ham, gruyère and thyme. Bake until the cheese is bubbly, about 12 minutes.