I want to make a white cheese sauce for some gnocchi I'm making--what can I do?

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a great classic white cheese sauce for italian dishes is pretty easy to make. essentially melt butter in pan (usually a lot of it, about a half stick), brown some garlic (3-5 cloves), add cream or half-and-half, and start slowly adding and stirring in parmesan cheese until you get the consistency you want. this should all be done at medium low heat. be sure to salt and pepper to taste as well.

milk or cooking oils don't work very well as substitutes for the cream and butter. they produce a stringy, inconsistent, and separated sauce that is oily from the cheese fat not blending into the sauce.

or you can use this sauce building technique. heat the pan first (sticks the flavor to the pan and builds a more consistent sauce), throw in cooking oil or butter, toss in the onions, salt to release the onions juices and add any other spices you want at this point (this makes the sauce's flavor consistent throughout instead of separated), then add any vegetables you want cooked with the order determined by what you want cooked longer (squashes take longer, mushrooms medium-long time, some veggies taste better more fresh and are best not overcooked), then melt in the cheese (hard cheeses like parmesan won't separate or produce oil as much as they don't have as high fat content such as soft or more moist cheeses), feel free to add wine, vodka, or basalmic vinegar near the end to keep things from sticking to the pan and add a more complex flavor. experiment, smell, taste while cooking and have fun creating.

I usually make a roux (equal parts flour and butter). Cook together, and add 2-3 cups of milk. If it's for an italian dish - add parmesan or Parmesano/Reggiano.

. . .oh, and as Rachel Ray says, "Add a little nutmeg which makes people go hmmmmmmmmm."

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It can also recommend recipes based on an unlimited number of ingredients.