Quick breadsauce?

Infuse for two hours schminfuse for two hours!

My bread sauce is very yummy though I say so myself. I don't like cloves, so leave them out, but if you like 'em, bung 'em in! The reason Delia's needs so long to infuse is that she uses a whole onion studded with cloves - my way is slightly different so doesn't need so long. Enough chat...

1 small onion, finely chopped (plus 4 cloves if you want)
6 peppercorns
1 blade mace
Half a pint of milk
Half a bayleaf
1 oz butter
2oz breadcrumbs
Cream (if you can be bothered)
Pepper and salt.

Put first six ingredients into a pan and bring slowly to the boil, then cover and simmer 15 mins. Turn off the heat and leave as long (or short) as you like. When you're nearly ready to serve up, strain through a sieve and put the milk back in the saucepan. Heat up again if it's gone cold, then stir in the breadcrumbs, season if necessary, and add a spoonful of cream if you have it or are trying to be extra impressive!

Incidentally, for the breadcrumbs, if you whizz up the going stale ends of loaves as you use them and freeze them in a tupperware box, then you can use the frozen breadcrumbs straight from the freezer into your bread sauce.

Another good way to speed things up is to make double the quantity up to the point where you'd normally add the breadcrumbs, then freeze it. Then, next time you want bread sauce, you just have to heat up and stir a few breadcrumbs in!

Last but not least, don't heat the whole lot up in the microwave - it makes it turn into horrid yucky stodge in a way that just doesn't happen in the saucepan - trust me, I've tried it!

You're more than welcome! It's the only sauce that all my Frog in-laws admit that we English make better than they could, so all the more reason to make it as often as poss! Incidentally, one last thing I forgot to say - play it by ear with the amount of breadcrumbs - you may need more or fewer, depending on how much the milk mixture has evaporated.