Ode to Bechamel

courtesy of www.delectablehodgepodge.com

I love a good sauce, particularly one that just might include some cheese.

Ahh, cheese.  How I love thee.

This brings up a great topic:  how to make a good, simple bechamel sauce.  This indispensable white sauce can do pretty much anything, from making a classic childhood treat to a decadent four cheese caloric nightmare of deliciousness to pour over your noodle of choice.

Here's my version of how to make bechamel:

You'll need: a couple tablespoons of butter; a couple tablespoons of flour; a cup and a half of milk; salt and pepper to taste.

In a saucepan, melt your butter.  Once it is melted, whisk in the flour and let it cook for just a few seconds--don't let it burn.  Congratulations!  You have now made a roux.

Whisking constantly, slowly add your milk.  Whisk until all the roux is incorporated and there are no lumps.  Slowly heat your sauce--I recommend doing all steps on medium low, but you can live dangerously if you want to and try it on medium.  Stir constantly, because you do NOT want this to burn.  If it burns, toss it as you can't save it.

When the sauce thickens, add a dab of salt and pepper to give it some flavor.  Purists would say you need to use white pepper to maintain the lovely whiteness of the bechamel, but I say ahh heck, just use what you've got in the pantry.  It's your sauce, do what you want.

So now you have a veritable blank slate to paint your culinary palate upon.  Depending on what herbs or cheese or other additions you choose, you can make this an entirely new sauce.

For example, add a can of drained, flaked white albacore tuna and serve over saltines.  You now have my most cherished from childhood comfort food of choice: Creamed Tuna on Saltines.  Whenever I am feeling blue, I'll have this for lunch and suddenly, all is right with the world once more.  I know, it sounds kinda horrible, but trust me when I say this is right up there with Welsh Rarebit and Sh*t on a Shingle.  One of those you had to have it by a certain age to appreciate it things, I guess.

Add, instead, some shredded Asiago cheese, dehydrated minced garlic, and Italian Herbs seasoning blend, and you have yourself a really wonderful sauce to top pasta, or slap it on a pizza that will bring even the most devoted red sauce fan to their knees.

If you want to make the best macaroni and cheese casserole you'll ever eat, add shredded sharp white Cheddar, Asiago, Gruyere and Monterey Jack cheeses, a dash of hot pepper sauce, and an teeny bit of extra salt and pepper to your basic bechamel.  (You can also go over the top and use heavy cream instead of milk in the bechamel making--really really fantastic, but not so easy on the waistline so proceed cautiously.)  Fold sauce into cooked and drained fusili pasta, pour it all into a greased casserole dish, and top with Parmesan-cheese-and-olive-oil-mixed-Panko-bread crumbs.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes and prepare to be dazzled...or at least be the most popular of all the macaroni bringers at your next potluck event.

Julia Childs may never have said it, but I believe that mastering one good sauce recipe could, perhaps, help you to eventually rule the world. 

Well...maybe.