Welsh Rarebit

Today is food holiday for Welsh Rarebit. A dish with a savory sauce of melted cheese and other ingredients. It is served hot, after being poured over slices of toasted bread. The hot cheese sauce may be served like a fondue. The names originated from 18th century Great Britain. While no one actually knows where the recipe originated there are many stories behind where it could have come from. Some say it is from South Wales where it was a staple of sorts. A generous lump of cheese is placed in a mix of beaten eggs and milk, seasoned with salt and pepper and baked in oven til egg mix is firm and cheese has melted.

The name itself may have been adopted because it was used by the English to mean "foreign" However, it could have just been named for the welsh after their love for cheese. Rarebit was first recorded in 1785 perhaps as a miss spelling. Legend has it that Welsh Rarebit was created by the peasants as they were not allowed to partake in the rabbit that was so famously hunted. They instead would settle for their bread toasted with a cheese sauce over it.

Contradiction, English cookbooks of the 18th century reveal that the dish was luscious supper or a tavern dish. With fine cheddar cheeses and wheat breads. There are variations of the welsh rabbit including English, irish and scotch rabbit but with none of them noted to be rarebit.

Welsh Rarebit (Rabbit)

4 thick slices good bread
200 g good cheddar cheese (about one mounded cereal bowl, see below)
2 tsp flour
1 tsp ground mustard
4 tbsp beer (plus more for drinking)
 2 tbsp. butter

Combine the cheese, flour, butter, mustard and beer in a pot and melt together over med-low heat, stirring occasionally. Yes, it will end up looking like cheez whiz.
While the melting is going on, toast one side of the bread. How do you do that? Use your boiler, but keep a close eye on the bread because it will go from very white to very black very quickly
When your bread is toasty and your sauce is all meltey and combined, season the sauce with pepper (and salt, if desired). Flip the toasts over so the untoasted side is up. Spoon or pour the cheese sauce over the slices and return to the broiler again. Cook the slices until they have brown spots and are hot and bubbly.

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