Cream Sauce

In an effort to cut out all the premade canned stuff I have grown used to using I needed to learn to make a cream sauce or white sauce.

Who needs a recipe for a simple cream sauce? Me for one and I am sure there are others who would love a little help.

First some Do's and Don'ts

• Do use a heavy saucepan. If you don't have one use your double boiler over simmering water. Do not allow water touch bottom of upper pan.
• Do use LOW heat when melting butter - be patient, it is worth it!. Don't allow butter to brown. Keep heat LOW while blending in flour. Don't allow the flour to brown.
• Cook sauce slowly.
• Stir with wire whisk.
• Cook until no trace of starchy taste remains.

Basic Cream Sauce

2 TBS Butter

1TBS flour

1 and 1/4 cups whole milk

1/4 tsp salt

Sprinkling of white pepper (I use regular old pepper - my family isn't picky!)

Heat butter in a heavy saucepan. Stir in flour. When flour is blended in, slowly add milk, stirring with a wire whisk. Cook, stirring over a low heat until sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Medium Cream Sauce

Increase flour to 2 TBS.

Thick Cream Sauce

Increase butter to 4TBS, flour to 3 TBS.

Now for some yummy VARIATIONS!

• Substitute 1/2 to 1 cup homemade chicken stock for an equivalent amount of milk.
• Substitute 1/2 cup white wine for an equivalent amount of milk.
• Stir in 1-2TBS of good cognac, other brandy, or dry sherry just before serving (isn't that elegant!)
• Add 1/2 cup grated sharp cheese. Stir until blended.
• Stir a little hot sauce into 2 well beaten egg yolks, stir yolks into rest of sauce, and remove from heat immediatly.
• Substitute 1/2 to 1 cup sour cream for an equivalent amount of milk. Stir in a little prepared horseradish just before serving.
• Stir in 1TBS tomato puree.

Add a 1/4 cup of any of the following:

• Slivered almonds
• Pimiento slivers
• Sauteed-in-butter mushrooms
• Ripe olive slivers
• This slices of water chestnuts
• Diced cooked shrimp
• Julienne strips of ham
• Chopped oysters
• Chopped pimiento-stuffed green olives
• Crisp garlicky buttered homemade croutons (serve immediately, before they get soggy)

I don't know about you but we are having Cream Sauce with Dinner tonight!

Submitted to: Real Food Wednesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Fight Back Fridays.