concerning smoked gruyere

Yesterday we were celebrating and I made one of my all-time favorite meals, Chicken Paprikash, and in making it I feel as if I dirtied every dish I own. This morning a certain little person had a set of innoculations to get through, and with one thing leading to another I didn't face the Chicken Paprikash mountain of dishes until 2:00 this afternoon. Right around the time when I should be thinking about what to make for supper.

So today I will share with you two things. First is how to get 24 hour old Chicken Paprikash juice off of a platter. Use one of these:

The Pampered Chef nylon pot scraper.

The second is how to make a really great bechamel sauce with smoked gruyere. Start with a roux of approx. 2 tbsp. of butter melted in a pot. Before it browns add enough flour for the butter to absorb it to a doughy texture. A few tbsp should do this. Into this pour a quarter cup of 18% cream and whisk briskly. Keep adding cream or milk, letting the liquid warm through and thicken as you add. When the bechamel sauce is at the volume you need and the thickness you want add a small spoon of a nice, grainy mustard, a small block of gruyere cheese finely chopped, freshly ground pepper and a bit of allspice. Stir until the cheese is melted into the sauce and serve warm poured over anything you please. I suggest broccoli.

There are days when I feel especially confident as a mother, on these days I don't need to make tried and true dishes. I can branch out and do exotic things with three plums and a jar of pickles. But on days when you really need something to simply work for you, without fuss, days when you accidentally drop a chocolate chip into your infant's mouth, to his great delight, as a completely random example , of course. Or when you have been vomited on. These are days when you need to be able to walk into your kitchen and cook something with your eyes closed.

May I suggest you make a bechamel.