cheese sauce, please

Do you remember when some beat-down parent, who was tired of forcing their child to eat broccoli, caved and offered to dump drizzle cheese sauce on top?

I don't.

We just ate what was prepared, vegetables and all.  And there was no cheese sauce on the table to make broccoli more tolerable.

But a cheese sauce-based casserole will always be close to my heart, because of my crazy love of cheese, so this recipe naturally intrigued me.

The original is from Sunset magazine's November 2008 issue, but the original also serves 12-14 people, and let's be honest, that's not conducive to cooking for one.  This version is adapted to serve a more reasonable number, say, 4-6:

Gorgonzola Broccoli Casserole

1 bag broccoli florets (in the steam bag)
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/8 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. gorgonzola (or other blue) cheese
1 c. panko bread crumbs
EVOO

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


2. Steam broccoli according to package instructions.


3. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in flour and salt, and cook until bubbly, about 1 minute.


4. Add milk and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until boiling and thickened, about 3 minutes.


5. Add cheeses, and whisk until smooth. Stir in broccoli, and pour into a small casserole (1 1/2 quart, or an 8 x 8 would probably also work).


6. In a small bowl, mix panko bread crumbs with 1-2 tablespoons of EVOO, to create a crumble topping.  Sprinkle evenly over top of casserole. 


7. Bake until crumbs are golden, and casserole bubbles around edge, about 20-25 minutes.

And a couple of personal notes ...

• If you're not pumped about casseroles, this could definitely be a stand alone cheese sauce to serve aside vegetables.  Or for chicken.  Yummy.


• If you're not into blue cheeses, shame on you.  But I think Parmesan might be an inferior alternative.


• I'm also thinking this might have potential as a full-meal casserole, if you added some diced cooked chicken to the mix, and maybe doubled the sauce portion of the recipe.

Did you (do you?) require cheese sauce for your broccoli?