Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Penne With Blue Cheese Sauce

N: Hon, I put blue cheese in the sauce for the pasta, hope it turns out okay.
R: Smells good.
N: How do you know when blue cheese goes bad?
R: I don't know...I didn't think it ever went bad.
N: Hmm. You can't really tell if there is mold on this.
R: That's okay. We'll just eat it.
N: Okay.
R: As long as we're on the same page.

Julia Child always said that one should be fearless in the kitchen, and I have clung to that statement ever since I first heard it. So...tonight I dug out the blue cheese from all the way in the back of the cheese tray in the fridge, fairly certain that it has been there since mid-September, and bravely put it in the white sauce for the penne we had for dinner tonight. The pasta was, quite unexpectedly, delicious!


The sauce is very easy to make. For 6 servings, melt 1/2 cup butter in a large saucepan, and add 2 tbsp flour to make a roux. Then add about 3/4 cup milk, stir until all lumps are gone and let thicken over medium heat, stirring constantly. Then add 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese and stir until well combined. The sauce will turn an unsightly grayish color, but that's okay...it is just absorbing the blue cheese color. It should thicken in a couple of minutes. I also had some kale and chopped ham on hand, so I added those to the sauce as well, and stirred over low heat until the kale wilted. Add cooked penne, and dinner is ready. Enjoy!

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