One of my favorite things about living in New York is that you can get brunch on both Saturday and Sunday — but sometimes that’s just not enough for me, and when the brunch craving hits on a weekday, it can only mean one thing for dinner: Croque Monsieur and Oven Home Fries.

There are a few ways to make this fancy ham & cheese sandwich — including a lively debate over whether or not it includes a Béchamel sauce, but for me, unless it’s a special occasion I tend to leave the “mother sauces” to the professionals.

Croque Monsieur (for 2)
4 slices white sandwich bread
4 thick slices deli ham
4 thick slices Jahrlsberg or Swiss cheese (traditional Croque Monsieur uses Gruyère, but I’m pretty sure the only place you can get that is at Brooklyn’s Natural)
butter
2 eggs
salt and pepper

Lay out 2 slices of buttered bread, and place 2 slices of ham and cheese on each. Butter the top slice and place butter side down to make into a sandwich. Lightly beat the eggs (you can add about a teaspoon of milk or water to thin the eggs out a little) and season with salt and pepper. Heat some butter in a skillet, dip the sandwiches in the egg mixture, turning a few times to make sure the egg mixture coats the whole thing evenly, and fry until golden brown on each side (about 3 minutes each).

Oven Home Fries
8 small red bliss potatoes, sliced about 1/4″ thick
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
olive oil
cayenne
paprika
salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 375. In a large mixing bowl, toss the potatoes, onion and pepper with olive oil and spices (to your taste). Lay the potatoes out on a baking pan and roast for about 30-35 minutes.