Loaves n Dishes: CREAMY BLUE CHEESE SAUCE

Remember when I posted a recipe for Sweet Potato Gnocchi?

I should hope so since it was only my last post…unless you didn’t get a chance to read it, which happens, though you can still read it and then all will be right in the universe once again.

Well since it was quite photo intensive and I didn’t want you to have to spend half of a day just reading my recipe I decided to post the recipe for the sauce separately.

Actually Creamy Blue Cheese Sauce can be used for much more than just Sweet Potato Gnocchi. This sauce would also be great for mac & cheese, over homemade potato chips (I’m drooling just thinking about those little babies), over a steak, as a base to creamed spinach, and so much more.

So I’m not even gonna try and tell you that this is a low-fat kind of sauce, but this recipe is a reduced fat version of blue cheese sauce.

The traditional recipe is reduced heavy cream and blue cheese. Creamy Blue Cheese Sauce uses heavy cream, half & half, and vegetable stock for the liquid, reducing the fat from the cream by more than half.

I quite like blue cheese though sometimes find it to be pungent, so I have to be in the mood to eat it; Billy on the other hand, loooves blue cheese and can eat a block of blue cheese anywhere, anytime. The cream in the sauce mellows out the blue cheese, yet the sauce still has a distinctly blue cheese flavor so that both the blue cheese liker and the blue cheese lover will love Creamy Blue Cheese Sauce.

Here’s what you do.

To a large skillet add some heavy cream, half & half, vegetable stock and two garlic cloves that have been smashed.

A non-stick skillet will make clean -up easier.

Cook over medium-high heat until it begins to boil, and then turn the heat down to medium.

Cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid has reduced almost by half.

Once the sauce has reduced; scoop out and discard those garlic cloves, they've done their job.

Stir in a 1/2 cup of crumbled blue cheese.

Remove from the heat and season with salt & pepper to taste.

Serve over Sweet Potato Gnocchi, or a juicy steak, or crispy chips, or whatever you fancy!

CREAMY BLUE CHEESE SAUCE

Makes about 1 ¾ cups

¾ cup Heavy cream

¾ cup Half & half cream

½ cup Vegetable stock

2 cloves Garlic, smashed

½ cup Blue cheese, plus more for garnish

Salt & pepper to taste

1. Add all of the ingredients except for the blue cheese to a large skillet (a non-stick skillet makes for easy clean-up). Put the skillet over medium-high heat just until it begins to simmer, then turn the heat to medium; stir frequently cooking until the liquid has reduced by almost half, this takes about 15 minutes.

2. Retrieve and discard the garlic cloves from the sauce, stir in the blue cheese and salt & pepper to taste; remove the pan from the heat and serve immediately.

Creamy Blue Cheese Sauce is terrific served over sweet potato gnocchi, sweet potato fries, homemade potato chips, a steak, a buffalo chicken sandwich, or use it to as the base for creamed spinach; sprinkle a few extra blue cheese crumbles on the top as well!