Béchamel Sauce

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients
2 tablespoons sweet unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1-cup milk

Salt & pepper to taste

Freshly grated or ground nutmeg to taste

Optional Ingredients

1 bay leaf

3 - 4 drops of Tabasco sauce

whole peppercorns

chopped shallots

1 stalk of celery

How To Prepare At Home

Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the
flour, stir until smooth and cook for five minutes but be careful not to
let the flour brown. You want the flour to end up a light, golden color.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan, add the milk and bring it to a boil. As
soon as the milk comes to a boil, remove it from the heat and pour it
into the butter flour mixture and start whisking.
This mixture will soon come to a boil and start bubbling. That's ok, just
be sure to keep whisking so the sauce doesn't burn and the sauce stays
smooth.
The bubbling will stop but the sauce will continue to boil.
Keep cooking and whisking the sauce for 8 to 10 minutes until it thickens
to the desired consistency. You may want to turn down the heat if it
feels like it is cooking too fast.
At this point, remove the saucepan from the heat and season with the
salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. You should end up with a creamy, smooth
sauce. It is now ready for your soup.
However, if you are making béchamel for a sauce and need to keep it warm,
just pour it into a small container, cover the surface with plastic wrap
and place it in a water bath to keep warm until you are ready to use.
Be sure to give it a good whisk before using.
 DIRECTIONS

1. 1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium. Add onion and cook until
softened, about 6 minutes. Add flour and salt; cook, stirring frequently, until
mixture is pale golden, has a slightly nutty aroma, and is the texture of cooked
oatmeal, about 5 minutes.
2. 2. Whisking constantly, pour in 2 cups milk; add 2 more cups milk and whisk until
smooth. Cook mixture, stirring constantly along the bottom of pan, until boiling,
about 7 minutes.
3. 3. Reduce heat to low. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens
and does not feel grainy when a very small amount is rubbed between two fingers,
about 10 minutes.

Loaded Potato Soup

Ingredients

1 package (12 oz) bacon

1 ½ cups chopped onion
6 cups Progresso™ chicken broth (from two 32-oz cartons)
2 lb baking potatoes, peeled, cubed
2/3 cup butter
¾ cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup diced cooked ham
1 container (8 oz) sour cream
2 ½ cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (10 oz)
¾ cup sliced green onions

Steps

1. In 12-inch skillet, cook bacon over medium heat 6 to 7

minutes or until crisp; drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon;
set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings in skillet. Cook
onion in bacon drippings over medium-high heat 6 minutes or
until almost tender.
2. In 6-quart Dutch oven, mix onion, broth and potatoes. Heat to
boiling; reduce heat. Cook 10 minutes or until potatoes are very
tender.
3. Meanwhile, in same skillet, melt butter over low heat. Stir
in flour with whisk until smooth. Cook and stir 1 minute.
Gradually stir in 2 cups of the milk. Pour milk mixture into
potato mixture. Add remaining 2 cups milk, the salt and pepper.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with whisk, until
mixture is thickened and bubbly.
4. Stir in ham, half of the bacon, the sour cream, 2 cups of the
cheese and 1/2 cup of the green onions. Cook until thoroughly
heated and cheese is melted. Evenly top individual servings with
remaining bacon, 1/2 cup cheese and 1/4 cup green onions.

Skillet-Fried Chicken
Ingredients
½ cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon paprika
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoons pepper
3- to 3 1/2-lb cut-up whole chicken
Vegetable oil

Steps
1. In shallow dish, mix flour, paprika, salt and
pepper. Coat chicken with flour mixture.
2. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil (1/4 inch) over
medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil, skin sides down,
about 10 minutes or until light brown; reduce heat to
low. Turn chicken skin sides up.
3. Cook uncovered about 20 minutes, without turning,
until juice of chicken is clear when thickest pieces are
cut to bone (at least 165°F).