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April 13, 2011 | 
Author King of Kings Authentic Cheese Sauce Recipe
how-to-make-cheese-sauce-at-home-recipe
Decadent and creamy! Who needs a basic cheese sauce recipe in their arsenal? We all do of course! Here’s my basic sauce I have always used in any recipe calling for cheese sauces such as for welsh rabbit, mac-n-cheese, or over veggies for baking in casseroles or even pouring over a pseudo lobster thermidor in crepes for a baked casserole dish that’s simply out of this world! and by the way – National Lobster Thermidor is coming up on January 24th.
The possibilities are endless as is your imagination! Enjoy making this easy and quick recipe for authentic cheese sauce. This makes your macaroni scream for the real deal.
King of Kings Authentic Cheese Sauce Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 cups milk
- 4 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper (purists might prefer to use white pepper so it’s tasted but not seen)
- 2 cups grated cheese (my faves? Use a mixture of two or more cheeses for a more authentic and complex cheese sauce – use cheeses such as cheddar, gouda, swiss and even goat cheese)
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
Tools and Equipment needed:
- One working stove top
- 1-1/2 quart sauce pan
- Whisk
Directions:
- With sauce pan on top of stove, put on medium-low heat and add butter, salt and pepper and melt butter slowly .
- Once butter is completely melted, add flour and whisk till well combined.
- Don’t skip those sides, scrape with whisk any of the flour down from the sides of the sauce pan and cook for two minutes.
- Slowly add first 1/2 cup of the milk.
- Whisk till all bumps are removed and sauce gets a little thick but especially smooth.
- Add second 1/2 cup of milk, and do the same as above but bump up heat now to a medium heat.
- Next add remaining one cup of milk, stirring while making sure heat is now medium-high.
- Continue stirring – hey remember this it’s some form of exercise to burn off those cheese sauce calories and stir till it bubbles, remembering to scrape the bottom of sauce pan since this is where it will get thick quickly.
- Bring heat back down to medium heat and slowly add 1/2 cup of cheese at a time, making sure all is melted prior to adding the next 1/2 cup of cheese.
- Continue adding remaining cheese in the same way until all is melted and oh so creamy and smooth.
- Add worcestershire sauce and taste-test – see if you would like to add more pepper or salt.
- Use as you would for any recipe calling for cheese sauce.
Oh so cheesy and oh so good! And yes, my Lobster Thermidor Recipe is coming to this blog in a couple of days!
Chow Ciao for Now ~Chef Maven
Posted in how to make, Recipe, Sauces | 
Tags: Cheese, cheese sauce, how to make, Recipe, recipe for cheese sauce, recipes from scratch | 
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How to make your own ground beef, meatloaf mix and ground turkey at home
Warm Bacon Salad Dressing-Vinaigrette
Who doesn’t love bacon? Ok there are a few of you out there, but for so many of us, it’s a delectable tidbit we indulge in every so often.
This easy to make and oh so delicious warm bacon salad dressing I perfected after craving and recreating it from a local fave restaurant. This one does not call for cornstarch as I have seen elsewhere – I have made this one for years…It’s a simple twist on my Balsamic Salad Dressing – this one obviously goes great over spinach salad...but any fresh looking salad greens will do.
Remember to allow the dressing to cool slightly, so that you don’t unintentionally wilt your salad greens.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound bacon – thick sliced is best
- 1 small onion-diced or minced/or three shallots minced
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon grainy dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1/3-1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- Juice of one lemon (2-3 tablespoons)
- 3 cloves garlic – minced
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 5 tablespoons mayonnaise
- ****Equipment Needed:
- Skillet, bowls, whisk, slotted spoon, One naked salad needing awesomely homemade warm bacon salad dressing
Directions:
- The first trick when making this salad dressing dish, is not to overcook your bacon nor cook it too fast.
- Slice up bacon into 3/4″ inch pieces
- In skillet, and add one tablespoon of olive oil into cold skillet.
- Place cold bacon in cold skillet.
- Turn on heat to medium – and let bacon slowly crisp on.
- If bacon fat, while cooking, is spattering onto your stove top, you are cooking the bacon too fast. Cooking bacon on medium and not high heat is best.
- Stir on occasion to turn bacon pieces over so they can brown evenly.
- While bacon is cooking, dice up onions and mince garlic.
- In separate bowl, add minced garlic, mayonnaise, mustard, honey and salt and pepper. Measure vinegars and add to bowl.
- With whisk, stir to incorporate well.
- Slowly with stirring with whisk, add olive oil very slowly stirring all the while to make an emulsion. Using a blender might make this step easier for some.
- Once bacon is crisp and cooked, using a slotted spoon, remove bacon and set aside allowing it to drain over some paper towels placed on top of a bowl.
- Remove most of bacon fat, reserving roughly three tablespoons of bacon in skillet.
- Wipe sides of skillet of any dripped bacon fat before returning to stove.
- Keeping heat on a medium to medium-low, add onions and let become translucent – maybe five minutes time.
- Turn heat off. Slowly add vinegar and oil mixture, the skillet will still be hot and mixture may bubble on you.
- Turn heat back on and let simmer (not boil) for three minutes.
- Let hot dressing cool 5-10 minutes before adding to salads, in case you do not wish to “cook” or wilt your salad greens – it will still be warm.
- Right before using salad dressing, add your bacon back to the salad dressing. And voila, add over your favorite salad.
Enjoy!
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Posted in how to make, Recipe, spinach salad ideas | Tags: bacon vinaigrette salad dressing, how to make, Recipe, warm bacon salad dressing | No Comments »
Classic Corned Beef and Cabbage
It’s that time of year again, and surprisingly, I have found a few people who do not know how to make this wonderful and tasty dish. Can you even imagine?!? Some of you may have never tried it, but I assure you, this recipe below is a super classic.
It’s super easy, rather carefree cooking and hardly can one make a mistake with this one. Just make sure you save some to make amazing corned beef hash!
Serve this up with homemade horseradish sauce – a slightly spicy and decadent sauce along with mustard and you will find all your troops asking for more!
Ingredients for Making the Best and Classic Corned Beef Cabbage:
- 5-6 pounds corned beef
- 4 large onions, outer skin removed, each cut into large wedges
- 10 carrots, peeled
- 2 ribs celery, cleaned
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 bunch parsley, cleaned
- 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
- 1 medium green cabbage
- 12-14 small new potatoes, scrubbed
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon peppercorns
Directions:
- In a large heavy-bottomed stockpot, combine the beef, 2 onions, 2 carrots, the celery, bay leaves, parsley and peppercorns.
- Add enough cold water to cover the beef by 3 inches and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover.
- Cook for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, turning 2 to 3 times.
- Cook until the beef is very tender, almost shredding when speared with a fork.
- Remove the meat from the pot and strain the broth into a large bowl. Discard the solids and return the meat and the strained broth to the pot.
- Add the mustard, remaining onions, carrots, cabbage and potatoes.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 50-60 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.
- Season the broth with salt and pepper if needed.
- Slice the beef into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
- Surround the meat with the vegetables, served whole. The broth should be served on the side with a ladle.
- Make sure to have deep plates with a lip so lots of broth can be poured over the meat and vegetables, or use shallow bowls.
- Serve with a warm loaf of country bread.
To Make Homemade Horseradish Sauce:
- 1 c. heavy cream, whipped until thick
- 6 to 8 tbsp. prepared horseradish, drained (adjust amount for hotness)
- 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise (optional)
- Fold horseradish into whipped cream add mayonnaise. Chill until served. This sauce is fantastic to serve up with your corned beef (and even a good roast beef).
Check out my many other recipes here at Divaliscious’ Dinner and Jam Blog – and heck even subscribe so that you never miss a fantastic recipe again – and it’s free!
Posted in how to make, Recipe | Tags: classic, corned beef and cabbage, homemade horseradish sauce, how to make, Recipe | 1 Comment »