Friday, January 29, 2021

Foodie Friday - Cheese Sauce


 I like cheese, in fact I have seldom met a cheese I didn't like.  I have been known to indulge in the stinkiest of soft cheeses, to sliver parmigiano and eat it, but I was raised on cheddar, american yellow cheddar.  These days I tend toward white cheddars,  most the yellow or orange ones are actually food coloring.  I like them extra sharp and dry.  There are some very good English and Irish ones.  One of the things I make is a basic cheese sauce.  This is something I learned the basics of from my grandmother who couldn't cook. Cabot Creamery in Vermont makes a mass market extraordinarily sharp white cheddar in the USA that is very good quality and affordable (I wish it was a little drier or more crumbly.)  Over the years I have kind of perfected it, but the recipe is very flexible. Very imprecise.  This is more a method than a chemistry formula. It is also really hard to mess up and have it go wrong, if you follow some basic technique. 

Things you will need:

2-3 ounces butter

2 heaping soup spoons of flour

6 to 12 fluid ounces of milk 

Shredded cheese, 4 to 8 ounces.  

You start by making a basic roux, this is butter and flour (I use either all purpose or bread flour, whatever is in front). Put the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add the flour.  As the butter melts whisk in the flour.  You want the flour to cook in the butter (other fats can be used) for at least 2 or 3 minutes for a light roux, in Louisiana cooking, they will turn the heat down to low and cook for 15-20 minutes while it turns tan or light brown.  For a cheese sauce, a light roux is fine.  The cooking changes the flavor profile of the flour.  Add the milk, and stir (I normally use a whisk) on and off over medium high heat for 2 to 5 minutes and this will thicken to a sauce that coats the back of a spoon. If it gets too thick, add more milk, if it is too thin, carefully sift in a little more flour whisking to incorporate.  The sauce is thickened by the starch in the flour absorbing fat and liquids.  Some recipes suggest equal weight of butter and flour, maybe start with that, but in time you will just know it when you see it.* At this point you have made a basic bechamel or white sauce.  It can be used at this point - or it can be enhanced.  I enhance it with cheese.  Whisk in the shredded cheese, stirring over medium heat until the cheese melts and a smooth sauce is formed.  I think cheddar is best for this, soft and semi-soft cheeses tend to get stringy.  

So now that you have cheese sauce what do you do with it? 

There is a basic dish of serving it over toast, browned under a broiler or grill.  The French layer it with ham over bread and brown in under the grill.   

It is a great sauce for a vegetable casserole, mix it with cauliflower, or sliced brussel sprouts and bake until crusty around the edges and brown on top. 

You can mix this with cooked macaroni and bake for a delightful baked macaroni and cheese. This is not at all like the stuff out of a box, not at all like a creamy mac and cheese, this will become crusty around the edges, on the bottom and top (it is the way my grandmother made it.) 

You can make scalloped potatoes with it.  

I did a one dish meal recently.  Wash, trim and slice potatoes into about 1/4 inch slices, thinly slice an onion.  In a greased casserole dish, start with a single layer of sliced potatoes, the a scattering of onions, a layer of cheese sauce, then thin boneless pork chops (I butterflied them to about 1/2 inch thickness) topped with another layer of potatoes and onions.  Top with a complete layer of cheese sauce, sprinkle a grated cheese on top, bake in a 400 degree oven for about an hour.  Crusty around the edges and heavenly in the middle. 

I wonder if that would work with chicken?  


*US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart defined pornography by saying "you know it when you see it."  

27 comments:

  1. I would love this. I too, like you, AM A HUGE CHEESE whore. I always have on hand a variety of 7-8 cheeses. I have had just cheese platters for dinner some nights, with some nice olives and nut selection...a nice red wine......

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    1. I am shocked to hear the word "whore" used in describing you, shocked! Where are my pearls!

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  2. Anonymous1/29/2021

    American yellow cheddar cheese is creepy. We don't really have cheese that colour and it just looks weird. Somewhat controversially, our Coon brand cheese has had its name changed to Cheer. Coon was the inventor and manufacturer's name. I guess you understand why, but personally I've never connected the two meanings and nor do most people. Mind, I won't put my morals where my mouth is. I like Coon/Cheer too much.

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    1. There are a lot of American's who think all cheese should have that funny color.

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  3. Ah... béchamel, mornay, croque monsieur. All staples in our house!

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  4. I also love cheese, although I avoid the stinky ones. As for the rest of this, I saw words like ounces and stir and medium heat and whisk and light roux and was suddenly dizzy.

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    1. Good thing it wasn't anything complicated, or SG would need chocolate to bring you around.

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  5. Your Mons Cheesemongers photo reminds me of the display WQ and I would find at the Sutton Place Gourmet in Alexandria. I think this small chi-chi grocery chain is long gone.

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    1. Oh, it's still here. It's now called Balducci's, from a fairly complicated take over in which Sutton bought Balducci's and then rebranded itself. Still a lovely store, though the people behind the deli counter are often surly; the meat counter people are, however, very nice.

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    2. Nice store, not far from home

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  6. I also love cheese but don't care for the rubbery "American" cheese. For everyday I use Cabot. Their white Vermont cheddar is good. So glad to know what happened to Coon cheese. It was very good, I'll look for it under the new name. Thank you for this post, love cauliflower and cheese, will try with brussels.

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  7. I like cabot hunters extra sharp cheddar.
    I like tillamook cheese from oregon.
    not into the stinky cheeses.
    a cheesy chicken and rice dish would be nice.
    https://gootessacheese.com - amish made cheese
    https://dibruno.com - our fave philly cheese shop
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz1JWzyvv8A - my fave sketch

    sutton place gourmet was bought out by dean & deluca

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    1. I stand corrected - the hamster is correct re: sutton place gourmet.

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    2. oh, more cheese recipes

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  8. I've made a cheese sauce just once, for a scalloped potato recipe. It seems daunting at first, but it's really pretty straightfoward. I usually go equal parts butter and flour, but, like you said, you adjust it as needed!
    I may follow AM's thought and do a chicken and rice dish with cheese sauce!

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  9. Love cheese and it’s been a staple snack and dinner embellishment in our home for a long time. I am also a big fan of extra sharp white cheddar and there are a few Irish ones here that are staples in our fridge. (Yup, we have a cheese drawer that’s always full!)

    I’ve learned to make a decent cheese al fredo sauce and a cheese fondue with dippers (meat and veggies - you can add bread if you allow yourself carbs) is one of our favorite meals: simple, quick to prepare, and delicious. I haven’t had cheese in over three weeks now, as I wait for my system to decide if it’s going to let me live and eat my favorite foods again but - DARN! - doesn’t his post make me miss it even more.

    Sassybear
    Www.Idleeyesandadormy.Com

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    1. With absence the heart grows fonder

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  10. Well this made me very hungry! I love cheese too. Your photo reminds me of the cheese shop I visited in London the last time I was there.

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  11. I like cheese but I have very pedestrian tastes when it comes to what I'll eat. Having been raised on Velveeta and its free counterpart "gubmint" cheese, I'm partial to American for cooking. I make my cheese sauce with American slices, with an equal amount of flour and butter. Throw in cooked macaroni, broccoli or peas and carrots and tuna. Place it in a baking pan with cheese slices on top and cook until the top cheese melts to a semi golden brown. Yummy high calories.
    Funnily, or maybe not, I like feta and hate blue cheese. Mild cheddar with an apple do it for me to. Oh, and smoked Gouda!

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    1. Feta is interesting, salty and not overly strong.

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  12. My soul swoons.
    You remind me I need to get working on my Monty Python Cheese sketch list. I have plenty to find and try.

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