Ira Glass, the host of the popular radio show This American Life, often tells writers that the key to good story-telling is incorporating the 'element of surprise.'

I believe the same is true for food. When dishes can delight and surprise, they bring a playfulness to the table that heightens the experience. Numerous chefs use this concept, like Top Chef Stephanie Izard who won over judges by braising pistachios or Michel Richard who cleverly named his chicken liver mousse "faux gras."

I recently decided to incorporate a little surprise into my version of the classic French ham, cheese, and egg croque madame sandwich by making it in miniature with quail eggs.

When Paul and I popped those little open-face sandwiches in our mouths the other morning we couldn't help but laugh at how cute they were, and our amusement made us enjoy the meal even more.

To make the minis, you follow the same recipe for the regular-sized sandwich only using thinly sliced French baguette instead of pain de campagne and quail eggs instead of chicken eggs.

Mini Croque Madames
Serves 2 for main course or 4 for appetizers

8 thin slices of baguette
8 thin slices of Black Forest ham to cover each bread slice
8 thin slices of Gruyere to cover each bread slice
8 quail eggs
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Salt
Pepper
Baby tomatoes for garnish

Place the oven rack about 10 inches from broiler. Turn the broiler on high. Butter each slice of bread.

Place one slice of ham on each slice of bread. Layer each slice with Gruyere cheese. Broil for about 4 minutes.

Heat a nonstick pan over a medium flame. Coat the pan with about a tablespoon of melted butter. In batches of two, crack each quail egg into the pan gently, so the yolk doesn’t break.

Quail eggs have a tough interior membrane so do not crack like regular eggs. The best way to crack them is to whack them gently with a sharp knife to puncture them enough to break through the membrane but not pierce the yolk.

Immediately after cracking the eggs into the pan, cover the pan for about 30 seconds or slightly more depending on how hot the pan is. Slide each egg on top of each slice of bread. Season the egg with salt and pepper and garnish with baby tomatoes.