101 uses for Béchamel

A few days ago I started thinking about sauce béchamel. First, it was in connection with lasagne. Meat lasagne dripping in béchamel. But then I thought, oh, heck with the lasagne. I'll just throw back a box or two. Yes. If pre-packaged Béchamel we're readily available in this country I would have guzzled box after box. Sadly, it's not readily available. At least at any of the supermarkets here in this city. I know because I went to all of them and asked for it. Most of the time I was met with blank stares, but then again, what was I expecting? Why should a 16-year-old stock boy be expected to know about the subtleties of fine cuisine?

Exhausted, not to mention famished, I had no choice but to make my own. Really, it's not all that difficult... just butter, flour, and milk. (It actually also technically calls for nutmeg, which I omitted, as per my homeopath kid brother who says that pregnant women should not consume nutmeg) It turned out perfect. To perfect to drink. So, I bathed my lasagne in it and called it a day. Since then I have spent every waking minute of my days trying to alter my recipes so as to include béchamel as a main ingredient. So far I have created my own béchamel-laced stuffed green peppers, Spaghetti and meatballs, meatloaf, and am still waiting to test some other ideas... mixing it in with coffee in lieu of cream, pouring it over strawberries instead of whipping cream, and mixing some random veggies in with it to make a sort of makeshift soup. That is not to say, however, that I would be entirely opposed to slurping it up with a straw were I given the opportunity.

Full book of recipes available upon request.