Alfredo Sauce

I bought too much milk.  Looking for something to make, I stumbled across the idea of making a white-sauced pizza.  As it turns out, I don't have an Alfredo recipe yet.

Traditional Alfredo uses heavy cream.  The recipe I picked from Coco and Ash intentionally uses a roux base and milk for a lower fat content.  I did put more cheese on the pizza, so it isn't like I was going lite.  The point of this was to use up the milk.

This sauce comes together in roughly the same amount of time it takes to cook pasta, making it ideal for a weeknight meal.  Richer than the stuff out of the jar, it definitely tastes home-made.  I happened to have extra parmesan in the fridge, or this would have gotten a tad expensive.  It's worth it for the taste.

1/4 C butter
*2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 C flour
*3 C milk, warmed to 100º
*2 C grated or shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp each salt and cracked pepper
*2 Tb chopped fresh parsley

1.  In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, one minute.  Add flour and stir into a garlic-scented roux.  Cook 1 or 2 minutes to develop flavor.

2.  Add milk half a cup at a time, stirring or whisking in until smooth and thickening.  Once all milk is added, cook 5 minutes to thicken fully and remove any flour taste.  Make sure to stir frequently to avoid scorching.

3.  Remove from heat and stir in cheese, salt, pepper, and parsley.  As soon as the cheese is fully melted, serve.  Can also be refrigerated and brought back in a saucepan with a little more milk.

Makes about 3 cups, 6 servings

Difficulty rating  π