Basic White Sauce Recipe & Variations

BASIC WHITE SAUCE

Butter (or equivalent)
Flour
1 c. milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

For thin sauce (for soups), use 1 Tbsp. each of butter and flour. For gravies and pour-over sauces, increase to 2 Tbsp. of butter and flour. For thick sauce (croquettes, souffles, etc), increase to 4 Tbsp. of butter and flour. Heat milk. Blend butter and flour together well, add to hot milk, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Cook for 2 minutes longer, add seasonings and blend.

Variations: For gravy, substitute meat drippings for butter. For cream sauce, substitute cream for milk. For yellow sauce, add sauce while still hot to 1-2 slightly beaten egg yolks, beat thoroughly. Create your own sauces by adding seafood, vegetables, cheese, whatever you like.