Cheese Sauce

My new goal is to get this stuff right. It should be pretty easy, there are only a few ingredients and it takes almost no time. Here's how I've been doing it:

------------------------------------------------------------

Cheese Sauce

1 tbs butter or margarine
1 tbs flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup or so of shredded cheddar (or whatever) - I use the pre-shredded bags
Seasonings to taste (I use salt, black and white peppers, and a dash of Tony's for kick)

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to make a paste (cheese roux woop!) Stir the roux around and cook it for a few minutes, then add the milk. Whisk it around until the roux is dissolved and bring it almost to a boil (scald) to thicken. Add in seasonings, and finally the cheese. Stir til cheese is melted, and taste for seasonings. Adjust as needed and serve over...well, anything. It's cheese!

------------------------------------------------------------

Not bad, right? It's worlds better than melted Velveeta (in my opinion), and husbands will eat their vegetables if you pour enough of this on.

HOWEVER. I have never been satisfied with the texture I get. It's grainy, not smooth like cheese sauce should be. This is why Velveeta is the queen bitch of cheese sauce - because it melts like a dream and there is no textural issue. You cannot screw it up. But since cheese sauces were a staple long before Velveeta, I figure I can come closer than this to producing a good one.

Soooo...I've been studying and taking notes on the making of the basic, noble cheese sauce. Now here's how it's supposed to be done. Watch for the differences:

------------------------------------------------------------

Cheese Sauce

1 tbs butter or margarine
1 tbs flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup or so of shredded cheddar (or whatever) - cheese shredded fresh from a block will melt better!
Seasonings to taste (I use salt, black and white peppers, and a dash of Tony's for kick)

Melt the butter in a saucepan over LOW-medium heat. Add the flour and stir to make a paste (cheese roux woop!) Stir the roux around and cook it for a few minutes, then gradually add the milk - add a little at a time, whisking continuously to incorporate the roux. When you've added half the cup, you can add the other half and continue to whisk. Add in seasonings, and bring the mixture almost to a boil (scald) to thicken. Remove from heat (!) and add the cheese gradually. Add a pinch at a time, and stir, stir. Let it melt completely before adding more. If the sauce cools too much while adding the cheese, you can stick it back on the heat to warm it up again. When all the cheese is melted in, taste for seasonings and adjust as needed. Serve over...well, anything. It's cheese!

------------------------------------------------------------

Ah, okay. I knew where my problem was as soon as I read "While it's not difficult to create a cheese sauce, it does require some patience." You know that I HAVE NO PATIENCE. I want my milk to scald now, dammit, so I crank up the heat and force it. Then I add the cheese right into the too-hot milk, which causes the oils to separate and gives me a grainy texture. Science.

So I've been making mediocre cheese sauce for a long time, but I'm going to step up my game because I think it's worth it. A good cheese sauce opens a lot of doors - you can use it as a sauce, a dip, a base for all kinds of pastas, casseroles and au gratins...hell, Shayne's favorite dish at Sammy's is the Seafood Au Gratin - shrimp and crawfish in cheese sauce over fried eggplant medallions. I could make that! *high five*