I've never made a bechamel that I would consider exceptional or even
acceptable (for me). Today I tried a different tactic.

I was going to have a different meal altogether but when I looked in the
frig there was 3 cups of cream and some brown crimini mushrooms. The cream
was 8 days out of date, but still acceptable, and the mushrooms might have
been if-y when I bought them (in a cellophane pack).

I cleaned up the mushrooms to where they didn't smell too amoniac and fried
them. While they were frying I got out and compared Giada's and Mario's
bechamel sauce and found that Mario's recipe fit my 3 cups of cream (without
calculating the difference of Giada's 4 cups' recipe). Both called for
milk - not cream. I didn't care because I've never made a fit bechamel so
far -- always lumpy and spending more time with lumps than the cooking!

I heated the cream in the microwave slowly to about 160º while I heated the
5 T butter (both recipes called for the same amount of butter) and then
sprinkled 1/3 cup flour into it. Giada' recipe said to cook 2 minutes,
Mario's said to cook 6-7 minutes. I cooked until starting to turn a little
brownish, as Mario said, maybe about 4 minutes. DH poured the hot cream
into the butter/flour mixture 1 cup at a time while I whisked. It was very
thick; I would assume mainly due to cream instead of milk. I added 1/2 the
amount of salt and nutmeg called for, and it still was pretty pungent with
salt & nutmeg. NO LUMPS!

Then I added the finished mushrooms and the spaghetti to the big pan of
bechamel and used tongs to separate them as they cooked. This really tasted
like carbonara.

I saved the rest of the bechamel (in the freezer) for another day.
Necessity was the mother of invention as I rescued the mushrooms and the
rest of the cream that I had bought to make chocolate truffles.

Served with 'organic' fresh carrots, salt & pepper; butter lettuce with oil
and vinegar and a glass of wine, French for DH; Italian for me.

It's now snack time and a movie -- thanks TJ's for salza and chips - as they
say, "Good to go."
Dee Dee