Help with a béchamel.Update page 3

Could I sub the milk and cream for half and half?

I thought a traditional béchamel didn't call for egg yolks.

What heat should I start the roux on?

You don't need to scorch the milk, and yes you can use .5&.5. Make blond roux, start introducing the dairy a little bit at a time while whisking the mixture. Season with s&p, red pepper, and nutmeg. Much to tavs chagrin, egg is not a component of bechamel, it will thicken the hell of out of one or just F it up into scrambled eggs. But the thickening of a bechamel is done by just slowly simmering it, and stirring like crazy so as to not burn it. Out of curiousity why are you thinking of adding tomato to it?

Well, I have some wonderful tomato sauce that i'd like to use.
I'm kind of experimenting with what I have in the fridge, which is as follows.
Milk
Butter
Eggs
Half and half
Broccoli
Celery
Onions
Fatback bacon
Chicken breast
Tomato sauce
Cheese
Green onions


I was thinking of starting with a béchamel and adding cheese (probably some kind of white) then adding enough tomato sauce to make it pink and give it flavor.
Maybe steam the broccoli florets and introduce them.
I'm just winging it really

Wow...tough room

I use a thicker sauce for my lasagne but it looks like you are wanting a thinner sauce... you can omit the eggs but I would use milk and not half and half(could thicken it too much)or if you are going to add tomato sauce use that to thin the sauce...and really nitwit...it was not to my chagrin

That was kind of my idea, but I want it as a soup. Trying to cut down on carbs.
I'm going to pick up a good white melting cheese after work. Any suggestions?

Had to go do the Sunday AM thingy. The cheese I would choose for this would be a poivre boursin, as for doing it to soupage, get a jar of BTB chicken too.

Also, usually if I'm using half and half for a soup, I'm also using broth at the base. You could use both broth and dairy for your soup...a mixture. If you do that, I'd go with the half and half if you're going for a thicker cream based soup. You can always thin with more broth, milk or the tomato sauce, even.

The roux shouldn't be brown. It should be no more than blonde. Basically, you want the flour and fat/butter to incorporate and add your liquids slowly, whisking constantly to prevent scorching. Whisk until you get the consistency you desire.

Now with the milk/half&half.
Do I need to have it hot first?
If so, how hot?

You can use Better Than Bouillon to make a broth, but watch your salt. It's a pretty good product, but it's salty and so is cheese and I imagine you'll be seasoning the chicken and the vegetables.

Yes, the roux must be hot to add the liquids so they incorporate, properly and thicken. I usually do it on medium to low. You don't want scorching, but you do need heat.