We can do nothing, we say sometimes, we can only pray. That, we feel, is a terribly precarious second-best. So long as we can fuss and work and rush about, so long as we can lend a hand, we have some hope; but if we have to fall back upon God — ah, then things must be critical indeed!
Make a cut into the onion, about 1 inch deep, and slide the bay leaf into
this slit. Stick the cloves into the onion, and place it, along with the
milk and nutmeg, into a heavy-gauge, non-corrosive saucepan. Place this
over medium heat.
In a separate pan, cook the butter and flour for about 5 minutes, stirring
continuously, without browning, until it emits a nutty aroma. Remove from
the fire.
When the milk is fairly hot, pour some into the cooled down roux, stirring
until the milk is thoroughly blended in. Return this to the remaining milk,
and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Season to taste with salt
and white pepper, strain, and set aside until ready to use.
Bechamel has a tendency to form a skin on top, in part because of its
exposure to the air. To prevent this, take a piece of butter, impaled on a
fork, and dab it on top of the sauce. This will leave a thin coating of
butter on the top of the sauce which prevents a skin from forming.
Bechamel is typically served with hard-boiled eggs (served hot); as a
binder and vehicle for grating; poached fish (served hot); and light meat.
TRADITIONAL DERIVATIVES OF BECHAMEL SAUCE
Aurora Sauce (Sauce Aurore) cream sauce blended with tomato puree. Aurora
sauce is typically served with poached, soft-boiled, and hard-boiled eggs
(served hot).
Avignon Sauce (Sauce Avignonaise)
Cream sauce flavored with garlic, seasoned with grated Parmesan cheese,
finished with an egg yolk liaison, and garnished with chopped parsley.
Brantome Sauce
Cream sauce flavored with a reduction of shallot, white wine, and oyster
liqueur, mounted with crayfish butter, seasoned with cayenne pepper, and
garnished with grated truffle.
Bread Sauce (Sauce au Pain a l'Anglaise)
Milk heated with an onion cut in half, simmered with grated fresh bread
crumbs, onion removed, seasoned with salt, cayenne, and nutmeg, finished
with cream, and mounted with butter.
Cardinal Sauce (Sauce Cardinale) Cream sauce flavored with fish stock and
truffle essence, sea-soned with cayenne pepper, and mounted with lobster
butter.
Cardinal sauce is typically served with shellfish, though it can also be
served with other braised or baked fish. The name is derived from the
connection between the bright red robes of a church cardinal and the bright
red color of crab, crayfish, lobster, and shrimp shells when cooked.
Recipe by: From book "The Sauce Bible" ISBN 0-471-57228-4, 1993 Posted to
MC-Recipe Digest V1 #765 by C4 <c4@groupz.net> on Aug 29, 1997
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