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1
Heat a medium skillet to medium with one tablespoon of olive oil.
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2
When hot, drop in the sliced red onion and stir to coat with the oil. 3)When the onions have sweated a little, after 2 or 3 minutes or so, give another stir and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt.
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3
Reduce the heat to low and cover.
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4
Leave alone and cook for 7-10 minutes (they will caramelize-red onions caramelize easily), checking once to make sure the heat isn't too high that the pan burns.
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5
Turn off heat and put onions aside.
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6
While your onions are cooking, bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil and drop in your broccoli florets.
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7
Cook for 2 minutes and then submerge in an ice bath (bowl of cold water with lots of ice cubes) or run continuously under cold water for a few minutes. The idea is to stop the broccoli from cooking immediately. 9)Drain when cold and set aside.
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8
I browned my chicken on both sides in an oiled skillet, and then added a little chicken stock, covered and simmered till it was cooked through but you can cook your chicken anyway you like.
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9
Once your onions, broccoli, and chicken are cooked, and your cheeses grated (please grate your own-there are very few instances when pre-grated is okay! huge HUGE flavor and texture difference for the price.) it's time to make your sauce. This sauce is essentially a flavored roux. A roux is a cooked mixture of fat and flour and many sauces and gravies begin with one. Master a roux and you are halfway to making a delicious sauce.
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10
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
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11
Wash the lemon well.
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12
Cut the lemon in half.
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13
Use a reamer or a fork to get all the juice out and reserve in a bowl. 16) Cut each half into quarters and use your fingers to peel out the rest of the fruit, leaving you with just peel.
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14
You'll need two medium sauce pans. Put the peel and the milk and half & half in one of the sauce pans.
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15
Bring just to a slow boil, stirring occasionally, then remove from heat.
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16
Remove the peel and set peel aside.
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17
In the second sauce pan, melt the butter over a low medium heat. 21)When melted, whisk in the flour and continue whisking until the mixture is a slight caramel color (just a minute or two).
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18
Then very slowly, whisk in the half & half and milk mixture.
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19
Keep whisking once everything is incorporated. The sauce will thicken pretty quickly.
