Crispy fried chicken, field peas simmered with savory pork, crusty cornbread hot from the skillet, three-layer caramel cake, homemade peach ice cream-old-time dishes like these have made Southern cooking a cherished tradition. Southern cousins, Courtney Taylor and Bonnie Carter Travis, both experienced cooks and writers, now bring that traditon to you.
Technically, a sauce made with butter, flour, and milk is called white sauce. In the South, however, it is more commonly called cream sauce, regardless of whether it actually contains cream. This basic sauce is one of the workhorses of the Southern kitchen. Alone or combined with cheese, it turns up everywhere: in creamed vegetables or poultry; atop baked fish and other seafood; in countless casseroles. The procedure for making cream sauce is essentially the same as that for making gravy. Fat and flour are combined to make a roux; liquid is added; and the mixture is cooked until it thickens.
Equipment: The easiest route to success is the double boiler, which
allows sauce to cook over hot water rather than on direct heat and discourages sticking, burning, and lumping. Choose a double boiler of stainless steel or glass, as the second essential tool for smooth sauce is the wire whisk. A whisk will damage non-stick cookware, and in combination with aluminum cookware will produce a metallic taste. If you do not have a double boiler, set a single boiler or sauce pan in a skillet of water and keep the water at a simmer.
Fat: Normally, cream sauce is made with butter, although you may substitute margarine if your diet prohibits animal fat. In either case, you will get better results with solid sticks than with whipped products that may be watery and thin when liquefied.
Flour: Any all-purpose flour is suitable. If your sauces tend to
develop lumps, sift the flour before use. Or try cake flour, which has a finer texture and more thickening power than all-purpose.
Liquid: Most cream sauces are made with whole milk, either alone or mixed with stock, broth, or cream. Canned evaporated milk yields am smooth sauce and is especially flavorful when diluted with stock or broth instead of water.
Cheese: Cheese sauce is cream sauce with the addition of a high-fat cheese that melts easily. Hard cheeses should be grated and soft cheeses mashed before they are blended into the sauce. Good choices are cheddar, Parmesan, Swiss, or Asiago. A combination can yield interesting flavors; equal parts of Parmesan and Gruyere, for example, produce Mornay sauce. *Be careful about the quantity of cheese. Too much will add an excess of fat, and the sauce will "break," i.e.
separate.
Seasoning: The choice of seasoning depends how you plan to use the
sauce and whether you want a subtle flavor or something more pronounced. Here are some suggestions for experimentation:
salt
cloves
onion powder
white pepper
tarragon
lemon juice
paprika
horseradish
red pepper
Worcestershire sauce
dry mustard
Tabasco® sauce
garlic juice or powder
curry powder
chives or parsley
white wine or sherry
Add seasonings gradually and taste as you go along. Some cheeses (like Parmesan and Asiago) contain a good deal of sodium, so take care when adding salt.
Proportions: Most sauce recipes specify precise measurements. But if
you want to experiment on your own, try the basic proportions in the chart to the right, adding seasonings such as salt, white pepper, dry mustard, paprika, and the like. You can thin or thicken the result using the methods described in "Correcting Consistency and Lumping in Gravy and Cream Sauce".
