I collect cookbooks, and in an effort to actually use them more, I decided to let a spinning wheel choose what I make for dinner. First, I added eight of my cookbooks to an online randomizer and hit “spin.” Then, I used a second wheel to randomly select a page number. The result? Page 205 of Matty Matheson’s Soups, Salads, Sandwiches. The recipe on that page: Croque Madame. I’m calling this new dinner-deciding method Cookbook Roulette.
I was especially excited that the wheel landed on this cookbook because I haven’t actually explored many of the recipes in it yet. On top of that, I love sandwiches — especially ones topped with an egg — so this felt like a perfect win for the first Cookbook Roulette.
Soups, Salads, & Sandwiches is written in a relaxed, entertaining way. The recipes are easy to follow, and you get a healthy dose of Matty Matheson’s humor along the way. I set out to make the Croque Madame, prepping ingredients while my husband got to use his favorite kitchen tool — the meat slicer — to thinly slice the ham.
Then it was time to make my star contribution: the mornay sauce (I relish any opportunity to make a roux). I was especially excited for this step because it meant breaking in my new saucier pan — a Christmas gift I’d been patiently waiting to use.
Once all of the components were ready, it was time to layer up the sandwich, broil it, and crown it with an egg. The result was rich — decadent, even. I did run out of cheese, so my version wasn’t as drenched as Matty’s looked in the book, but I happily compensated with a little extra sauce.
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Cookbook Roulette Rating
Difficulty: 3/5 — doable, but not totally hands-off
Presentation: 3/5 — tasty, but a bit chaotic once assembled
Taste: 4.4/5 — rich, comforting, and worth making again
As a first spin, Cookbook Roulette was a success. This croque madame was rich, satisfying, and exactly the kind of recipe that makes me want to dig deeper into Soups, Salads, Sandwiches. I already have my eye on a few more pages, so don’t be surprised if this cookbook shows up again in a future spin. If you have a favorite cookbook you think I should add to the wheel, let me know in the comments.
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