Yogurt on its own changes texture but the marinade is fine. And freezing the meat/tofu/paneer in the marinade is fine too
We grew up just doing a bechamel (flour and butter) and adding cheese-ideally steeping the milk with onion, clove and bayleaf, and adding mustard to the sauce. We add cheese until the sauce can’t hold any more if we’re being delicious, or however much we grated if we’re being practical. Extra old cheddar is our standard. If I did stock for milk I’d add cream.
Fancy blends like gouda and other cheeses are good. If you do a smoked cheese it’s only a little and added last. A friend does a parm sauce that’s amazing.
We do mac and cheese (not baked but my grandad is a delia fan and sprinkles with breadcrumbs, mushrooms and tomatoes and bakes), cheese sauce on cauli or broccoli or potatoes. It’s really easy to be lazy or fancy with cheese sauce. Gf is easier bc the cornstarch is actually easier than the roux.
I’m really babbling about cheese sauce and not helping 
4 Likes
My cookbooks are in storage, and I don’t buy gf flour blends. Does anyone have a basic sponge or pound cake that’s near foolproof?
I’m playing with a traditional pound cake ratio (failed big time but delicious) and currently have fannie mays one egg cake in the oven (doesn’t seem rich enough) both with Masa arepa, rice flour and cornstarch. I don’t like oat flour in cakes, and I need to watch the ratio of besan when I add it. I am trying for perfection by Christmas Eve as husboo wants tea and cake as our Christmas morning breakfast tradition and I’m okay with that (my family tradition was muffins, but those need Christmas morning baking and aren’t a familiar food in his family…plus I’m imposing almost all my traditions unilaterally).
Also, what are eveyone else’s Christmas morning traditions? New year’s and Hanukkah mornings? Birthday mornings?
3 Likes
Now I want ALL the cheese.
1 Like
My mother for many years made a cheesy salmon quiche for large family gatherings. Cheddar and canned salmon is a very 80s white suburban housewife food I think. Now the family usually gets together after lunch, so she doesn’t make it any more.
I make cranberry scones or cranberry cream cheese muffins, depending on whether the cream cheese had a good sale. And sometimes the shadowy one makes scrambled eggs on Boxing day.
eta: I looked it up, and many of the top recipes include some kind of vegetable like broccoli or peas. This recipe is onion, canned salmon, egg, cheddar.
2 Likes
I don’t love mustard, so I use chicken bouillon for a bit of flavor. I used to use stock and less milk which made it less creamy, but now I use the same amount of milk with the bouillon added in and I like it better. I never have heavy cream in the house when I randomly want mac and cheese or I would use that.
2 Likes
I responded to brute before I saw your post. I always use chicken bouillon in mine, you could absolutely use your vegetarian one. I have used the Better than bouillon and the Knorr brand, and just add it to the butter while it’s melting, I don’t use water to make stock with it first.
2 Likes
That quiche is something. Specifically, something my mum would love. I’m always up for cheese and onion or broccoli or spinach or mushroom quiche
2 Likes
Like @plainjane, my Christmas morning breakfast is scones (plain or cranberry) with lemon curd. My cousin makes egg casseroles, so that is our second breakfast when we get there (not this year, tho 
).
My birthday breakfast tradition, when I’m at home, is fruit crepes. (My birthday is in summer.)
4 Likes
Our strongest Christmas breakfast tradition was “the candy from your stocking.” Otherwise, some mix of fry-ups (bacon + eggs + a carb) or muffins or scones or whatevs.
1 Like
I usually make either a smoked trout/goat cheese/caper/white wine & cream sauce omelette or we make yeast raised waffles. New years morning… we usually sleep through, and hope there’s some kind of carb that we can easily warm up.
5 Likes
Bagels and cream cheese with hot chocolate. And clementines. Ideally while reading the book I got in my stocking.
I don’t think I have any traditions for New Year’s, Hanukkah, or birthday mornings. But pancakes are always a good bet. Hmm, I should make pancakes a New Year’s morning tradition in my family.
And now I want a traditional Yule meal. Huh. Something sunny… lemon pancakes for breakfast would be delicious. Yukon Gold potatoes. Saffron rice. I suppose one could have sunny-side-up eggs if one enjoys such a thing.
4 Likes
My family’s was homemade pizza, because we did it once and my little sis loved it so much it was immediately a tradition to her.
Less exciting for Greyman and I since we do pizza weekly.
3 Likes
My husband’s family always had Christmas captain crunch for breakfast on Christmas morning. They still try to, but sometimes it’s hard to find the Christmas version in stock.
2 Likes
Christmas breakfast is cinnamon rolls. This year they’re out of a can and not from the fancy bakery/restaurant near us that is famous for them. Partly because we are not going into buildings, and partly because the bakery is owned by an alderman who has been clandestinely letting his cronies dine-in indoors even though that’s currently illegal in Chicago. And, well, I don’t want to support that. 
4 Likes
I need to make a lot of cookies (80-90) for an exchange. What’s an easy recipe that uses inexpensive ingredients?
I have a lot of peanut butter, because Safeway keeps giving me free jars of their house organic brand.
1 Like
I really like making peanut butter sandwich thingies out of PB and ritz crackers, then dipping them in melted white chocolate.
The kraft pb cookies are ridiculously.eash.
1 Like
There is a peanut butter cookie that is really easy - 4 ingredients:
Makes 20 cookies
Description:
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies are for TRUE peanut butter fanatics! An easy peanut butter cookie recipe with so much peanut butter packed into each cookie!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix together the peanut butter and sugar on medium speed until combined and creamy. Add in the egg and baking soda, and mix on medium until smooth.
- Using a medium (2 tablespoon sized) cookie scoop, portion out the dough and roll into balls. Place the dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet. Use a fork to press the dough down creating a crisscross pattern.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the cookies are set at the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
2 Likes
Those are sooo good.