Kate's October Recipe Selection: Rarebit

From: The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

Fall is in the air (at least in MI), so for my monthly "we all make it" recipe, I have selected Rarebit (page 93).  It seems like a comforting, warm, cozy dish that looks easy enought to prepare after work for dinner, or for a weekend lunch.  It also has multple variations of what you can serve it with.



The recipe:

RAREBIT

Prep time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

...the old fashioned Welsh cheese sauce, spiked with beer.  Serve this over toast and/or steamed broccoli or asparagus.  This also works beautifully as a sauce for baked of boiled potatoes.

Note: the alcohol content of the beer largely dissipates with cooking.

2 TBS butter
2 TBS flour
1 TSP dry mustard
1 1/2 cups beer or ale, at room temp (ok if flat)
1 packed cup grated cheddar
1 TSP prepared horseradish
1 medium clove of garlic, minced
salt, pepper, and cayenne - to taste

Underneath the sauce:
toast and/or
steamed broccoli or asparagus, and/or
baked or boiled potatoes

Next to, or on top of, the sauce:
chunks of ripe tomato
slices of tart apple
chopped, toasted walnuts

1) Melt the butter in a medium-sized sauce pan.  Sprinkle in the flour and dry mustard, whisking constantly.
2) Add the beer or ale, and keep whisking as you bring it to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, mixing frequently.
3) Add the remaining ingredients, and stir until the cheese melts.  Serve hot over thick slices of toast (sourdough, rye or pumpernickel as especially good) or over steamed vegetables and/or cooked potatoes.  Garnish with tomatoes or apples, and if it appeals to you, a few toasted walnuts.