I'm prolly just gonna run up to the tap house and eat, and see if any of the 65 beers are new.

sd72 wrote:

A bechamel is one of the simplest sauces that exist in scratch cooking. Listen up because you're gonna learn some neat tricks. I grew up scratch cooking been doing it since I was five and I make some decadent food with very simple ingredients. Not only is it simple but cooking in this manner is downright cheap. It really came into play when I only had $250/mo in college to spend on smokes, gas, and food.

Roux - simple thickener that's made by cookig flour and a fat together

Bechamel - sauce/gravy consisting of roux and milk

Bechamel + Salt and Pepper = White Gravy
Bechamel + Parmegean Cheese = Alfredo Sauce
Bechamel + Velveeta = Cheese Sauce (for dips, mac&cheese, or broccoli&cheese, potatoes au gratin)
Bechamel + Crawfish Tails/shrimp + more butter = a great sauce to add on top of baked fish
Bechamel + Mustard = mustard sauce for chicken or pork

You can sautee onions and potatoes then thin out a bechamel with clam juice and clams to make a clam chowder.

Bechamel in combination with cheese, tomato sauce, and meat to make lasagna. Just layer each topping between precooked layers of lasagna pasta.

Bechamel mixed with vegetables and chicken is the base for chicken pot pie.

There are a lot of other uses for it too. It's the most versatile sauce outside of brown sauce. Quick and simple to make only takes 5 minutes.

jjanecka wrote:

Hmhaines, I did try the mayonnaise trick today on my grilled cheese. I like how it turned out; at first it looked like it was going to be very soggy but after a couple minutes of cooling off the bread set and it turned out pretty good. Thanks for the tip!

jjanecka wrote:

Don't think there's a thread like this:

I've got one or two easy little things I like to suggest to people, things that can enhance a meal without hassle or grand expense. Anyone else?


Instead of butter, use mayonnaise on the outside of a grilled cheese sandwich. It cooks beautifully, gets crispy without burning, and tastes like it was made at the perfect diner. This is somwhat uncommon, some people balk at the idea, but you ought to try it before you say boo.

Sprinkle cinnamon on top of macaroni and cheese. This stems from my childhood, I enjoyed having homemade applesauce and Kraft Mac&C for dinner. The cinnamon doesn't replace mom's homemade applesauce, but it is a whole lot easier!

(You'll note, I'm not exactly a "classy" eater sometimes.)

Hmhaines wrote:

HARVEY!

Hope he’s doing well.

Don’t remember when I started using mayonnaise for grilled cheese sandwiches but it mighta started after reading this post. Definitely works for us.

Gotta try the cinnamon (…or even the applesauce…) on mac ‘n cheese.

Palama wrote:

Try putting your mac ‘n cheese in a smoker.

Gene363 wrote:

Did that with Patti Labelle's recipe....mmmmgood

DrMaddVibe wrote:

Try putting your mac ‘n cheese in a smoker.

Gene363 wrote:

HOH! Sounds like a winner (...Z - not to be confused with "weiner"!...).

Palama wrote:

I got the idea from The Ultimate Tailgaters, a local competition cooking/barbecue team. They put on a cooking session at a local store where me met them and they catered the wedding for younger son and his wife. Their briquet was heavenly and so was the mac-n-cheese.

Gene363 wrote: