white sauce with specks of black and blue

I am a lover of most cheeses. Can't say that I've tried all the ones out there but I've had the opportunity to try a great variety, thanks to Uncle Jim. Whenever I stop in there or Uncle Joe's, I always come away with new types of cheese. Last time I went, I bought a Raschera and small thing of Blue cheese. Raschera is a semi soft cow's milk cheese, tastes great with a bottle of a Riesling or Sauternes. It's a salty table cheese that accompanies sweet wine for appetizer or apéritif. Even though some recipes use it in risotto, I prefer to serve it by itself.

Back to the blue. That was really good too. I can't remember it's origins or details but I tried a piece after returning from shopping. As soon as I finished that piece, I knew I wanted to make a dish using that cheese. I made a blue cheese sauce for ground turkey meatballs. For me, this sauce is a go-to sauce for dipping or a main feature in an entree. Some dishes that accompany well with it are ground meatballs, buffalo wings, chicken breast, fettuccine pasta, steamed/cooked and raw vegetables.

Blue Cheese Sauce with colorful specks

1 garlic clove mashed
1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
pinch of Nutmeg

Melt butter in a saucepan on medium heat, add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add flour and whisk in with butter and garlic. If lumps form, that's okay. Turn down heat to medium low, allow flour to cook for couple minutes, until it starts to smell nutty. Slowly whisk in milk and cook until the mixture forms into a thick saucy consistency. Stir every so often so the sauce doesn't get lumpy. Add blue cheese, black pepper and nutmeg, stir and cook for couple more minutes. Turn off heat and remove saucepan from the stove. (If the pan stays on the burner, the sauce may thicken more than needed because the burner continues to release heat, even when turned off.)

Serve with meatballs, drizzle over cooked chicken breast or any food of your liking. It's a favorite at my house, I hope it attains that honor at yours.

leftovers are my favorite

When I have any kind of leftovers, I either reach for the tupperware or freeze the food. Nothing EVER goes to waste in my household (with an exception to forgotten and lost vegetables in the fridge). I am so particular about this even the hubby takes only the amount he plans to eat.

Few days prior, I made Mussels with Cilantro Cream sauce at my parent's house and we had sauce leftover that did not make it into our bellies. Sadly, we didn't have bread that night to mop up. Before everything was thrown to waste, I bought whole-grain French baguette and made Garlic bread with a Cilantro sauce.

The garlic and olive oil make it really scrumptious. Use your favorite extra virgin olive oil, this is the time to bring out the best of the best.

Garlic Bread with Cilantro Cream sauce

One whole grain French
1/4 cup of cilantro cream sauce
1 garlic clove, halved
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Parmesan cheese, optional

Cut French bread into slices, broil for 5 minutes. Rub half of garlic on the bread and drizzle extra virgin olive oil, generously. Broil for 2 more minutes; this will heighten the flavors of olive oil and garlic. Remove from oven, drizzle Cilantro Cream sauce evenly on all slices. Add parmesan cheese, if using. Serve immediately.