Blue cheese sauce

The magnificent microwave book, 159pp.
edited by Ellen Argyriou
Polly Book Publishing, no date
Cooking on page 32

This book was commissioned/developed by Toshiba, and I assume it accompanied one of their microwave products.

This copy belonged to my mother-in-law. She was a very crafty entertainer when she was in her 70s.

She knew all the restaurants in North Adelaide (South Australia). When she had a party, she’d order her favourite dishes from one of these establishments, in whatever volume was needed. Sometimes she’d even deliver her own serving pieces to the restaurant earlier in the day. Then it was a simple matter of picking up the finished and filled dishes in the late afternoon. No wonder she loved her microwave and her ‘caterers’!

She never confessed her entertaining technique to her guests, and don’t any of you breathe a word of it either. I’ve been known to do it myself from time to time, but only when I’m desperate, and I promise I haven’t done it for years.

Blue cheese sauce

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
salt and pepper
2 cups milk
75 grams blue vein cheese, grated

Method
Place butter in a large glass measuring jug and cook on power level 9 (high) for 45 seconds till melted. Stir in the flour till smooth, then add a little milk and stir till a smooth paste. Add remaining mild gradually, stirring until free of lumps. Cook for 4–5 minutes stirring every minute. Remove from oven and stir in the grated cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

How it played out
Bad Peggy. It’s approaching winter in Australia and I have the wood cooker going, so I made this on the wood stove and not in the microwave. Couldn’t bear to waste the warmth of the fire. I followed the ingredient list and the timings were about the same, so I guess it’s easy to make on/in any kind of stove.

Verdict
How can you use a good blue cheese sauce? Let me count the ways! I added it to the pictured pumpkin soup (garnished with fried parsley), roasted cauliflower, a dip, a salad dressing, baked potatoes, and as a topping on a steak. Yummo!

How would you use it?