What you need:
About a cup of a good, hard Italian cheese (parmesan, parmigiano-reggiano), finely grated This recipe will turn out better if you use cheese that you grated yourself because the powdered shake-able cheeses like Kraft, usually have anti-caking substances added that don't work well in recipes like this one. If that is all you have, by all means use it. Just expect the sauce to possibly be lumpy.
About a cup of a good, hard Italian cheese (parmesan, parmigiano-reggiano), finely grated This recipe will turn out better if you use cheese that you grated yourself because the powdered shake-able cheeses like Kraft, usually have anti-caking substances added that don't work well in recipes like this one. If that is all you have, by all means use it. Just expect the sauce to possibly be lumpy.
1/2 stick butter If you use margarine your sauce will be thinner because margarine is basically mostly oil and water...yuck.
1/2 cup Soy Milk I use soy milk because it doesn't curdle as quickly as cow's milk. If you don't use soy, then use milk but adjust your method for the possibility that it will curdle if you add it to a hot mixture. Heavy cream is more forgiving with the curdling but that kinda defeats the purpose of making this healthier.
1 Tbsp. Garlic juice If you don't have a garlic press, you can use half as much fresh garlic or even some garlic powder. If you use garlic powder be sure you add it at the end. It may clump up if you don't and ruin the sauce.
If you are so inclined, you can add a shake of dried basil or Italian herbs, just don't be heavy handed...you will ruin the sauce.
The Method:
Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over low heat. Add garlic juice.
Gradually add soy milk, stirring constantly. Raise the heat slightly until soy milk/butter mix starts to steam.
Add cheese a little at a time, stirring constantly. Use a wire whisk if you have one and stir in a figure eight pattern. That will help keep your sauce smoother. This kind of cheese does not melt evenly and the sauce will look slightly grainy...doesn't affect the taste, though.
Keep stirring over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Don't cook too long or turn the heat up too high as it will scorch the sauce.
If you want a smoother sauce, say for pasta, use white American Cheese or something the melts more evenly but be sure to at least add some type of hard Italian aged cheese to get the flavor.
Note of interest: Even though I referred to the above recipe as an Alfredo sauce, it is actually just my version of a really good white cheese sauce with Italian overtones. Real Alfredo was not originally even a separate sauce. It was cream and cheese added to pasta and stirred to create a "sauce" when combined with the starch on the surface of the pasta.
