Roquefort sauce - trick to boiling heavy cream?

[shopwinedinefine]

I plan to make an Ina Garten recipe, where she boils heavy cream to thicken it, then adds Roquefort cheese. I attempted this recipe last year, and ended up with a destroyed pot and no sauce. I burned the cream. So, how does one heat up the cream properly? Thanks.

[Non Cognomina]

Use as wide a pot as possible. The greater the surface area, the more quickly the cream will reduce. Use a much bigger pot that you think you'll need--cream has a tendency foam up when it boils. As has already been mentioned, use medium high heat to get it to just below boiling, then reduce heat and stir constantly while it simmers to desired consistency. Good luck.

[pepper_mil]

It's pretty forgiving actually, just keep a close watch on it and stir, and it's fabulous when you get it right. I used to do it in the microwave as well. The most common problem is boiling over.

[Will Owen]

Well, you don't just put the pot on a burner turned up to high and go watch TV. When I've reduced cream I always add it to a pan that's already hot, that usually has some butter and some other ingredients in there, like mushrooms that have sautéed and/or onions cooked to soft transparency, and then I stir and scrape as the cream boils until it starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Whatever way you do it, you do have to work at it. A silicone spatula or a wooden spoon is your best tool, and you do have to keep it moving so that it cooks down without burning. The reward is a wonderful rich, clean-tasting sauce with no starchy element. This is how the original Alfredo sauce was made.