Cooking 101: White Sauce

I've had a request for white sauce, which is perfect because it's the first thing I ever cooked! My mom taught me this when I was about 9 years old and I have never forgotten.
White Sauce

Basic white sauce can be used as a sauce for meat pies (including pot pies) or perogies and so many other dishes. You can add grated cheese to turn this simple sauce into a cheese sauce for variety, or you can spice it up with the addition of a bit of sherry or other additions to flavor it. The white sauce (also called bechamel) is essentially a mixture of fat and flour (roux) heated until thickened, to which milk is added. It is quite simple and takes few ingredients, but does require constant mixing to keep it smooth and creamy.

Ingredients

• Approximately 2 -3 tbsp butter (not margerine) for each cup of prepared sauce
• Approximately 2 tbsp white flour
• Dash of salt and pepper
• 1 c milk

Preparation

1. Place butter in a cold sauce pan and heat on medium until the butter sizzles.
2. Add flour to butter, creating a thick paste. Continue to stir for 1-3 minutes - the longer you heat the roux, the darker the sauce will be!
3. Slowly pour in 1/2 c milk, stirring constantly with wooden spoon to break up lumps and make a smooth creamy mixture. The spoon apparently stops the building up of glutens and keeps the integrity of the sauce.
4. Add additional 1/2 c milk a bit at a time, stirring constantly, until you get your desired consistency. Simmer on low until thick and creamy.

If it gets too thick, slowly add a bit more milk and stir. If it's too runny, mix a bit of flour in 2 tbsp of milk and add to the sauce. It takes experimenting to get it just right. This recipe may be doubled.