Comfort Foods: Rarebit not Rabbit

Comfort food....  the words make me think of cold nights and hot dinners, snuggling on the couch and watching the fire crackle. It's the warm feeling in the pit of your stomach that reminds you of home and family, of good times that are never forgotten.

Everyone's idea of comfort food is different. Perhaps it's your grandmother's famous soup, your mom's lasagna, or your dad's Saturday morning pancakes. What is your comfort food...  Is it mac-n-cheese? Chicken noodle soup? Ahem... anything chocolate??

As much as I love absolutely anything chocolate, my comfort food is something else. When I'm sick, grumpy, missing home or missing my husband, my go-to meal is... grilled cheese.

That's right. Grilled cheese. 

Who doesn't love buttery bread and ooey, gooey cheese? (If the answer is you, I'm not sure we can be friends anymore). While I still whip up a quick grilled cheese on occasion, I've discovered a more grown-up version that really hits the spot. 

Welsh Rarebit. Not rabbit. RAREbit.   

It's shocking, really, how many people think I boil bunnies for dinner when I mention this dish. I promise, I'm not cooking up cute, fluffy bunnies!

What I am cooking is ooey, gooey, cheesy heaven on a plate.

I don't know how the name for this dish came about, so I wouldn't ask me if I were you. I just go with the flow. I do know Rarebit is a traditional British dish. And I know it's scrumptious. 

That is the extent of my knowledge. I think it's enough. 

Would you like some ooey, gooey, cheesy heaven on a plate? Of course you do!! Here's how to get started: 

The ingredients are basic enough, staples which I usually have on hand. Cheese, bread, butter (not pictured, oops!), beer (that's the 'adult' part), whole milk, flour, dijon mustard, chives, and various spices. Oh, and an egg yolk, which also didn't make it into this picture. You're used to me forgetting stuff by now, right? 

Before we get cooking, you'll want to prep a few things. Start by frying several slices of bacon (about 4) in a skillet. Once cooked, crumble the bacon and set it aside. Then, chop one package of chives into 1/4 inch pieces. Set these aside as well. Both will be used for garnish later.   

Also, be on the lookout for bacon thieves! I can't escape them... usually the Hubs is snatching the bacon faster than I can cook it, but this week I had to contend with a new opponent. My buddy, and fellow blogger, Abby!

In spite of her bacon-theft tendencies, I love her much! You might remember Abby from her blog, in which I recently wrote a guest post for: The Conquering of Cardiac Hill

Ok, now let's get down to the nitty gritty! 

The foundation for this recipe is the bread. I go for French or Italian bread. Please don't use regular sandwich bread. Don't do something you'll regret! Regular sandwich bread is just not the same, you've got to trust me here. This cheese sauce needs a nice, sturdy bread to stand up to it. 

So, toast your bread. Been there, done that, I rambled a lot. I won't go into a long explanation here, but if you need it, you can check out this post where I explain it all: "Cooking" for One: Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad.

Set the bread aside and get working on your sauce. Quick tip: Have all your ingredients measured and ready to go. The sauce only takes a few minutes. You don't want to be running around, looking for the paprika, and then find out you burned your cheesy goodness, do you?

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over low heat. Not high. LOW. Once the butter has melted, whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour. This combines to make a little something called a roux. Keep whisking for 2 or 3 minutes, constantly. Don't let your roux burn!

From here, it's all downhill, nice and easy. Drizzle in 1/2 cup of whole milk (you can use heavy cream if you're looking for a richer sauce) and also a 1/2 cup of your favorite beer. For today, I used Blue Moon. No special reason, it just happened to be in my cabinet. Keep whisking as you add the liquids. We don't want any lumps!

Spices are next into the pot.

Here you have some leeway, and room to make substitutions if necessary. Start with 1/2 teaspoon of paprika. Then, add 1/4 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce. I like to use 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, but if you don't have it on hand (or just don't like it!), you can always add dry mustard instead.

A bit of spice is nice, right? I went for cayenne pepper, a few sprinkles or up to 1/4 teaspoon. Again, you can substitute here too. Tabasco works well. Add more if you like it spicy, less if it's not your thing. Or, leave it out altogether. Totally up to you.

Whisk all your spices in, until the sauce is smooth and well-blended.

Photo by: Abby Austin  

Here comes the ooey, gooey... slowly mix in 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese. Don't forget to grate it fresh! None of that junk in a bag for us. The secret here is to add only a little bit of cheese at a time, allowing one batch to melt before stirring in the next. You can handle that, right? I thought so. I have total confidence in you.

Let the cheese sauce cook for a few minutes, until melted and hot. Remove your pan from the heat, and add one final ingredient.

An egg yolk! No white, just the yolk. Don't know how to separate an egg yolk? Check out the tutorial here: How to Separate an Egg Yolk. OR, simply crack the egg into your hand (holding it over the sink or a bowl), and let the white slide through your fingers until you're left with nothing but the yolk. OR, buy an egg separator like this one: The Egg Yolky.

I'm rambling again. Oopsie.

So, where were we? Oh yeah... stir your egg yolk into the cheese sauce. Annnnnnnnnnnnnddddd, you're done!

Spoon the cheese sauce over your toasty bread, then top with the crumbled bacon and chives. Heck, add a dollop of sour cream if you want. Or leave it all off, and instead serve the sauce in a bowl with bread pieces for dipping. Be creative, try it your way!

Welsh Rarebit

I won't embarrass her by posting the picture evidence, but Abby and I both agree that Welsh Rarebit is something you lick your plate clean for!

What are your favorite comfort foods? Feel free to share in the comments below. Until then, happy cooking!



The Standard Form:

Welsh Rarebit (serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 loaf of crusty bread (ex: French or Italian)

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

½  cup whole milk

½ cup beer

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon paprika

A few dashes - ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ cups fresh grated cheddar cheese

1 egg yolk

Chopped green onion

Cooked and crumbled bacon

Directions:

Slice your bread into thick pieces and toast. Set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over low heat. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk until combined. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Pour in the milk and beer, whisking constantly, and cook for an additional minute. Add the Dijon mustard, paprika, cayenne, and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk to combine.

Slowly add the cheese in a bit at a time, whisking after each addition. Cook a few minutes, whisking constantly, until the cheese mixture is melted hot. Remove from heat.

Stir the egg yolk into the sauce, whisking to combine.

Serve immediately over the toasted bread. Top with the chopped green onion and bacon. 

"Cooking" for One

"Cooking" for one.... wondering why the 'cooking' is in quotes? Well, I'll tell ya. Technically, I don't think this recipe counts as official cooking. Sure, it's completely delicious. But something this simple, this easy... it couldn't possibly fall into the 'cooking' category.

Could it?

Well, I'll let you decide for yourself.

When the Hubs is away, mealtime warps into something sad. Cooking for yourself isn't that much fun; I much prefer having company. Most recipes are a 4-serving size... not so bad when there are two of you.  That means a great dinner on Monday, plus a Tuesday of no-cooking while you enjoy the leftovers.

BUT, if you're only cooking for yourself? I get pretty tired of lasagna (or whatever) after the first two days. On Wednesday, that still leaves several days of uneaten lasagna in my fridge. Not cool.

Unfortunately, the military life basically guarantees that, as a spouse, you will spend many nights alone. Those are the breaks, and we all knew what we were getting into. I used to fall back on old standbys for dinner... like Wendy's. Or take-out Chinese. Lean Cuisine. If you're a spouse, you know what I'm talking about! The quick and easy, anything that won't create too many unsightly leftovers in the fridge.

Lucky for you, I've seen the light! There is another way, I promise you. And because I love all y'all invisible internet people, I'm going to let you in on the secret (Woo, my southern is really coming out today!).

The secret is this: Simple, flavorful meals. Ones with small serving sizes, or ones that freeze easily. Today I'm going to share another quickie recipe with you. It's great for lunch or dinner. Plus, you can customize the portion. Just you tonight? No problem, this easily makes one. Having a friend over? No worries! Just as easy to make another.

Drum roll please......

Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad Sandwich!

Man, that title is way long. What about Chicken Salad Sandwich? What about Strawberry Chicken Sandwich? How about just Sandwich? Or 'Wich?

I'm obviously having an identity crisis.

Whatever its name, this sandwich is super simple to make. You can be eating in less than 10 minutes if you so choose.

I so choose.

Here are your basic ingredients:

As you can tell, I was quite lazy with the 'chicken salad' part. If you want to make your own chicken salad, go for it! I do that sometimes too. But it's so easy to keep a container on hand, especially if the Hubs is gone. Simple is better for me in those times.

If you like the simple too, you can find this great chicken salad at a Target Superstore. I heart Target Superstores, seriously.

Mmmmmmmm..... it's magically delicious.

Ahem. Ok. Now that I've wiped away a little bit of drool, we can get serious. Start with your rolls, or ciabatta, or whatever bread-type substance you desire. I use club rolls (also from Target, bakery section).

I toast my bread first. You can pop it in your toaster, throw it under the broiler, or toast it in a skillet. I go for the broiler method so my bread only toasts on one side. Super simple... just spray your bread with a little non-stick cooking spray and toss it under the broiler for a few minutes. Keep an eye on it to prevent burning (been there, done that!), and pull it out at your desired level of brownness.

I can't believe I just spent a paragraph explaining how to toast bread. It's been a long day.

From there, build your sandwich! I have a little secret to tell you... before adding your preferred greens (I go for the spring mix or arugula usually), use a teeny, tiny shmear of the chicken salad on one half of the bread. This acts a little like glue, so when your greens are placed on top they don't squish around and out of the bread. Drives me crazy when that happens!

So, shmear of chicken salad. Then your greens. Next, a healthy pile of sliced strawberries...

Say what?! 


You heard me! I don't care how crazy it sounds, I don't care if it's the last thing you would ever put on chicken salad. Trust me. You won't regret it. And if you do happen to regret it (which won't happen!), it's a sandwich, people. Pull off the strawberries, moosh your bread back together, and keep on eating.

Now that we're past the difficult part... add a nice dollop of chicken salad on top of the strawberries. Prepare yourself, because we're about to add another mystery ingredient. The strawberries need a little somethin' somethin' to compliment their deliciousness...

If you've kept up with your reading, you'll know I've used this before. Quite recently, in fact. I also found this at Target, but if there isn't one near you, Amazon also carries this particular balsamic glaze. Or, you can make your own by reducing a bit of balsamic vinegar. For another quickie meal (easily customizable for one), think back to my Watermelon and Arugula Salad. This glaze is so useful!

ANYWHO... onward. Drizzle your sandwich with a bit of glaze (ok, I like a lot!). Top with the other bread half. And... viola!

A fun and creative dinner/lunch for one. Serve with a side of raw vegetables, fruit, or mac-n-cheese if that's your style! I went for some baby black corinth grapes, just because they were so cute and tiny.

What kind of meals do you make when your Hubs is away? More coming soon from my kitchen to yours...