The Wonders of White Sauce

I remember looking at my grandma’s recipe box as a little girl. I was always puzzled by a particular card labeled “white sauce.” What on earth is that? Though I’m sure I asked and I’m sure she gave me an answer, I can’t remember what was said. It was only years later, when I had to start cooking for myself, I realized why a card with a list of only four ingredients would be in her recipe box. It’s basically the foundation of any cream sauce. I realized this week that I’ve never actually written it down, since it’s so simple (and I don’t always look at recipes anyway), but it is definitely a staple of my kitchen. Here’s approximately what I do:

Melt 3-4 T butter on medium heat, stir in 3-4 T flour until lumps are gone. Add 1 c. milk, a little at a time to smooth out lumps, then add another cup of milk (or two, depending on how thick or thin I want it). Stir in ¼- ½ t. salt.

And here are my some of my personal variations:

*Cream of Tuna : add one can of drained tuna to white sauce and serve over rice.

*Macaroni & Cheese: melt 1-2 cups shredded cheese into white sauce and pour over cooked macaroni. Often, I will add several varieties of cheese at once—a slice of Swiss, a handful of cheddar, and a sprinkle of Parmesan, for example. But the real key to winning flavor is adding sour cream or cream cheese too.

*Clam Chowder: add two cans of clams to double batch of thick white sauce. Drain clam juice into stockpot, add 1 c. water and 1-2 t. chicken boullion. In broth, cook 4 large potatoes (diced), 5-6 stalks celery (sliced), and 1 large onion (diced). When vegetables are tender, pour in white sauce. Salt & pepper to taste.
[Note: I usually only have skim milk on hand, but his is one recipe that either needs more butter in the white sauce or a richer milk or cream for really good flavor.]

*Chicken Tetrazini: cook 1 diced onion & 1 diced pepper in butter before adding flour to white sauce. Add 1 c. cheese until melted, 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup, and 1 can chicken chunks (undrained) to white sauce. Stir into cooked spaghetti or angel hair pasta.

I’m sure there are dozens more variations out there. Anyone willing to share?
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