Pizza Sauces

[shadowicewolf]

So, today, I thought i'd try out a potential white sauce recipe for that pizza i want to make tomorrow. The original recipe is your basic Alfredo (cream, butter and all). I used about a cup or so of milk, a fourth of a stick of butter (unlike the three sticks they were calling for), some pre-shredded parmasan cheese, and a little corn starch.

 

Well, where to begin. The sauce, despite my efforts to make it not so rich, still didn't turn out right. It was gritty. I mean, it was okay, but it still wasn't the same.

 

I let the butter and milk/corn starch slurry (maybe a teaspoon and a half of corn starch if that) mix together really well before i added the cheese. The cheese was added in small increments as well so that it would melt instead of clumping up.

 

It looked really good, but it was gritty. Any idea on what i did wrong? Think it was because the cheese was pre-shredded that caused the issue?

 

At this rate, i might just cook the pizza dough, put some seasoned butter on it, and top it with toppings and say that's good enough.

 

I am also open to suggestions on what i should use as well

[kareng]

Do this and  I bet it will be yummy!  Might be able to use half and half to cut back on calories?

 

 

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Or just some garlic and olive oil as a base is nice.

 

I think the pre -shredded has that gritty cellulose powder on it.  I get parm that is pre-shredded but doesn't have the cellulose.  I know parm doesn't melt well.  I have had fondues that use potato starch to thicken.  Might try that?

 

 

You back at school?

[Adalaide]

Pasta alfredo shouldn't have milk, cream or any other such thing in it. Pasta. Butter. Cheese. Salt. Pepper. Dinner. If you absolutely have to have a sauce with a dairy product, heavy cream is the way to go, milk will just make a gross and runny sauce. It won't need a thickener. The recipe Karen posted isn't much different from what I would use if I had to make it ahead as a sauce.

 

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

 

Right... you said for on pizza derp. I'm a little slow tonight. Unless you find a specifically low-cal recipe I wouldn't try just messing around with a recipe unless you are prepared to go through a lot of ingredients wasted. Alfredo was never meant to be low-cal and is a rich sauce. It is what it is, which is why it is so universally loved for being amazingly tasty.

[emaegf]

Two things come to mind - Most preshredded cheese are coated to prevent the shreds from clumping together. Try shredding your own at home.  Second over heating cheeses results in the casein clumping just enough to make a gritty texture.

 

I never use starch of any kind when I make alfreado sauce, just cream or milk, butter, cheese and a touch of white pepper. You heat the liquid and butter and let simmer lighty to reduce down, remove from the heat add cheese & pepper stirring until smooth. You do need to watch it while it's simmering to prevent sticking and scorching. Occasionaly stirring it helps prevent that. Once you've goten the cheese in it don't heat over a burner again or it will over cook and the cheese will seize (get clumpy and gritty) and break (fat will seperate from the sauce).

[notme]

mleh, i have ever made cheese sauce in a hurry (not just parmesan, all sorts)) by starting it out as white sauce.  i usually use a mixture of cornstarch and white rice flour - the first few times it turned out too gritty (or once i used tapioca starch and it resembled glue lolz) until i cooked it longer in the butter - husband swears the 'non-wheat' flours absorb more fat/take longer to do so than wheat flour.  so far (and i hate to say it lolz) he has been (right) non-wrong...  also noticed when we are frying things, we tend to use more oil than we used to (we have to add more)  

 

now i want white pizza!!  hmmmm - i *has* the pillsbury    is that the crust you're making, shadow?  you could just put basil pesto and sliced tomatoes on it with cheeze and call it a day!  or....  pizza!  

[shadowicewolf]

mleh, i have ever made cheese sauce in a hurry (not just parmesan, all sorts)) by starting it out as white sauce.  i usually use a mixture of cornstarch and white rice flour - the first few times it turned out too gritty (or once i used tapioca starch and it resembled glue lolz) until i cooked it longer in the butter - husband swears the 'non-wheat' flours absorb more fat/take longer to do so than wheat flour.  so far (and i hate to say it lolz) he has been (right) non-wrong...  also noticed when we are frying things, we tend to use more oil than we used to (we have to add more)  

 

now i want white pizza!!  hmmmm - i *has* the pillsbury    is that the crust you're making, shadow?  you could just put basil pesto and sliced tomatoes on it with cheeze and call it a day!  or....  pizza!  

I have that in my fridge.

 

I'll probably have to postpone it. That trial sauce did not go well (i tried it over noodles to see if it would taste okay). My stomach is still upset. If my stomach behaves tomorrow i may make it then.

[bartfull]

OK, here's a recipe from the world's worst cook, but I got it from a friend so it's good. Melt some butter. If you can't do dairy, use olive oil. Slice some mushrooms and saute them in the butter/olive oil. Crush three or four cloves of garlic into it and let it sit on the stove for a while on the lowest heat possible. Grate some cheese. I like white cheddar.

 

Cook your pasta and sprinkle the cheese on top. Pour some of the garlic-y butter/olive oil on top. Spoon out some of the mushrooms. By now the cheese has melted from the heat of the pasta and the butter.

 

Dig in. If you don't have or like pasta, use rice.

 

If you'd rather have it on a pizza, use some ricotta or cottage cheese as a base, then put the garlic-y mushrooms and just a little of the butter/olive oil on top.

 

Even helpless Bartful can do this, and it's GOOD.

[Adalaide]

Since I my stupid body is all "zomg cheese is bad" I love doing the ricotta cheese sauce thing even for pasta! I skip the shrooms and just do garlic, butter and cheese + pasta. It is generally awesome and I never thought of using it as a pizza sauce but that would be really good. I actually just mix the cheese right into the butter and garlic and usually end up adding a little pasta water to thin it to a sauce consistency but hot milk or cream would work too. I don't really use a recipe, I just start throwing things in a pan til I deem it food.

[moniego]

Hi Shadowicewolf!

 

I use butter, heavy whipping cream, garlic, and shredded cheeses (mild flavors).  It doesn't seem particularly gritty or clumpy to me (though it is very high calorie).  After melting the butter and mixing in the whipping cream and garlic, I put on a very thin layer of shredded cheese and whisk it smooth before putting more cheese on.

[emilykay405]

You could try this... Open Original Shared Link

 

It's basically a cauliflower white sauce without any cheese. I haven't tried it yet but as soon as I can get to the grocery store I'm getting some cauliflower and trying it.