mozzarella parm sauce

About 12 servings

1 cup butter (salted)
1 cup flour
9 cups milk
8oz. grated parmesan cheese
8oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp nutmeg or allspice (I use Garlic & Herb Mrs. Dash)

Heat butter in a 4 quart saucepan on medium high heat until melted.  Gradually whisk in flour add stir constantly until no clumps remain to create roux.  Continue to heat and stir constantly until flour is light brown in color, about 2-3 minutes.  Whisk in milk slowly (I recommend heating milk in microwave or separate saucepan as adding cold milk causes clumps to form that need to be broken down with heavy stirring). Add salt and spices (if unsalted butter is used, add 1/2 tsp more salt). On high heat, heat mixture to just short of boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture thickens, stirring occasionally with wooden spoon, about 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to low settings.  Add cheese, 1-2 oz. at a time, stirring until cheese is melted before adding more.  Repeat until all cheese is used and remove from heat, or otherwise heat to desired temperature before serving.

*If sauce is too thin, stir in more cheese. If sauce is too thick, stir in more milk.  We like this balance of salt and seasonings, but of course they can be altered to your taste or diet.