Welch Rarebit

  This recipe was a first for me. It came about because I have been wanting to join along with I Heart Cooking Clubs. You see,  I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC) chooses a new chef every 6 months and then a "theme" for each week. So go on over and have a look around. This time around Mark Bittman won out over Jamie Oliver. For this first week, we are cooking or serving "Bites" also known as appetizers, starters or tapas. I had intended on joining in while they were cooking Nigela Lawson's recipes. Except that I don't currently own any of her cookbooks and I never could decide on what dishes to make from the web. I do however own three of Mark Bittman's books, from his How to Cook Everything, I have: Bittman Takes on America's Chefs, Weekend Cooking, and Holiday Cooking. So this time I have a better refence point.

  Well even with the three books on hand, I still couldn't decide (again). I decided to surf his websites, and I found this recipe for Welch Rarebit.

My ingredients are butter, flour, cheddar cheese, dry mustard, cayenne, worcestershire sauce, and dark beer.

And of course some good bread. I chose a sourdough. You will start by lightly toasting these on a baking sheet in the oven on both sides.

To start, melt butter in a medium size sauce pan. When melted add the flour to make a roux. Cook the roux until golden brown. Next add the dry mustard and cayenne.

Next add your worcestershire sauce and the beer, whisking all the while until the mixture is smooth. 

When the mixture is smooth start whisking in your cheese.

Again whisk until smooth.

Spread cheese sauce thickly onto your toast points and put under broiler until bubbly.

Serve immediately.

I cut this recipe in half, as there are only two of us. Also I could only find Newcastle.

Welsh Rarebit

Courtesy of Mark Bittman

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon mustard powder, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
3/4 cup strong dark beer, like Guinness
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
1 pound Cheddar, Double Gloucester or other English cheese (or other good semi-hard cheese, like Comté or Gruyère, or a mixture), grated
4 to 8 pieces lightly toasted bread
 
 
Directions
Pre toast your bread of choice on a baking sheet under the broiler. Set aside.
 
Put butter in a saucepan over medium heat and, as it melts, stir in flour. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and very fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in mustard and cayenne, then whisk in beer and Worcestershire sauce.


When mixture is uniform, turn heat to low and stir in cheese, again stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and pour into a broad container to set (you can refrigerate for up to a day at this point).

Spread mixture thickly on toast and put under broiler until bubbly and edges of toast are crisp. Serve immediately.


 
It was a very easy recipe and easily adapted for amount of servings. As he says in his post, this makes a very nice late-night snack. I found it delicious in the middle of the afternoon for a quick nosh.
 
 
 

Michael and Carla