James Beard's Mushroom Sauce

While reading my James Beard Menu Cookbook, I noted that in the back he's got general purpose recipes.  One of those was for a Mushroom Sauce.  My dearly beloved loves mushrooms, as do many others in my family.  (Longtime readers already know that I don't eat fungus, but I'll feed it to my hungry hordes.)  I decided to give it a try with the meatloaf I made on Thursday.

This is what the inimitable Mr. Beard wrote, back in 1965:

 I updated it a bit, to have less cholesterol - a real necessity in my household.  It was very well received, and I was urged to save the remainder to go with the leftover meatloaf.

JAMES BEARD'S MUSHROOM SAUCE
(Revised)

(1) small can mushrooms
1/2 cup hot chicken or beef broth OR
      1/2 cup hot water plus 1/2 tsp chicken or beef base
2 tbsp soft butter, cut in small pieces
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp powdered milk
1/2 cup skim milk

Put about 1/2 cup mushrooms, butter, flour, chicken or beef base and milk powder in the food processor with the chopper blade.  Turn on, then add the water (or broth) and process for 1 minute.  Add the milk, process one minute more, then pour into a pan and cook for 5 to 7 minutes over low heat, until it thickens.  If desired, add more mushrooms (because my can was bigger than Mr. Beard's suggested 3 ounces), and heat one minute more.

I've decided on ham for the "Meet the In-Laws" dinners, and I'll be serving much larger batches of this mushroom sauce with it.  The rest of the menu is still in flux, but I'm working on it!

Also, as introduced to me by Louise, this will be my entry to Joyce's Cook Your Books!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!