Welsh Rabbit - Friday update

It kept raining today.  Then it started to hail.  HAIL!  In Los Angeles.  Armageddon is right around the corner.  

Since yesterday's post about the legends of Welsh Rabbit, I got a hankering.  Plus, I felt guilty writing about something that I hadn't recently eaten or made.  So, off I headed to Andrew's Cheese Shop when the bell rang at the office for a high quality cheddar and a little inspiration.  He was a bit surprised that I was making Welsh Rabbit.  Why?  I said.  Turns out, in his opinion people don't make it any more.  I suggested that he re-introduce it during one of his Grilled Cheese nights, where he pairs all sorts of grilled cheese with all sorts of beers.  It's perfect - cheese and beer in one bite.  He said he'd think about it.  We'll see...

So, updates to the recipie posted last night...
#1 - Be careful when grating your cheese!  I cannot emphasize enough how much you do not want grated fingernail and thumb in your dinner!  I managed to avoid any thumb, but there might have been some fingernail.  Patience people!  It will all get done, and in less than 20 minutes start to finish.
#2 - I don't actually have anything bad to say about 2 Tablespoons of butter.  I just wanted to show you my cute cow butter holder.  It's one of the few things I've managed to hang onto since my early bachelorette days.  Moo.
#3 - Flavoring and texture.  You might be better off with just 2 Tablespoons of flour.  Three Tablespoons make for a really, really thick sauce (and probably precipitated the need for more beer.  See #4)  Also, I tasted a little more mustard than I would have liked in the final product.  Maybe reduce dried mustard to  1/4 teaspoon and increase the Worcestershire sauce to 2 1/2 tablespoons.  But, perhaps that's just me.
#4 - I found that there was no way that 1/2 cup of beer was going to be enough to give the cheese sauce enough fluidity to spread over our extra thick sliced toast.  I added another 1/4 cup, and then another 1/4 cup.  So, in the end, about one cup  of beer seemed to do the trick.  We used a great British dark ale, courtesy of Andrew's newly instated liquor sales license.  Yay Andrew!  Even with the cup in the sauce, there was enough left over for us to each enjoy a small glass of this rich, hoppy, brew with just a hint of sweetness.  I wish I had a better taste vocabulary for beer.  In any case, it was really good.
#5 - Try to find a nice loaf of bread, and slice it yourself.  Darling Husband was in charge of slicing, and he went with one inch slices.  Toasted to crispy but not too dark it served as the perfect platform.

At the end of the day, Darling Husband and I enjoyed a great dinner of cheese, bread and beer.  A perfect food.  And - to add to the success, DH remembered the smell and taste of our concoction from his childhood when his dad (the Scot) would whip up a batch of this easy, cheap (well, not so cheap with fancy imported beer and cheese, but you get the idea) snack.  When you can tap into someone's olfactory memory, I'd say that's a job well done.  Look at that gooey goodness!  What's weird is that the flavors of Worcestershire, beer and mustard blend so well with the cheese that what you have at the end is an all new flavor.   I'm still working on what the profile is, but it is rich.  The mustard is crucial to keeping it from tasting flabby, and the Worcestershire adds it's magical blend of herbs and spices to make this cheese sauce so much more.  Who needs rabbit (or filet mignon for that matter) when you have cheese and bread?

I had bought some broccoli, but somehow it never made the steamer...

Welsh Rabbit - all the cheese, none of the bunny fur!

The rain is still coming down in Los Angeles, and my poor dog is terrified of thunder and wind - both of which we seem to have an endless supply of at the moment.  Did you hear we've had tornados?  Time for comfort food.

To mix things up a little, how about Welsh Rabbit?  Also known as Welsh Rarebit, it's basically cheese sauce on toast, but it's so much more!  There are many legends associated with this simple fare.  1) When my mom used to make it when I was a kid, I just thought that we were eating the vegetarian version, and that the glamorous Welsh used to have chunks of rabbit in their cheese sauce.  2) According to Mick, the British proprietor of our favorite local cafe, the name is a total slur on the Welsh, who the English perceive as inferior due to their coal mines and propensity for words with too many w's, and y's (see Aberystwyth).  His version contends that the Welsh were so poor, that they couldn't even afford rabbit - which used to be one of the cheapest proteins available.  They were so poor, they could only afford cheese and bread.  3) Another version says that Welsh rabbit hunters, after a successful rabbit hunt, would eat this fortified cheese toast upon returning home - thereby negating Mick's version of the legend.  4) Of course, there is another version where unsuccessful Welsh rabbit hunters have to eat cheese toast because they aren't very good hunters.  5) A really twisted version claims that a Welsh chef tried to pass off cheese toast as rabbit to unsophisticated Welsh diners.  While I have actually never eaten rabbit, I might argue that melty cheese toast is easier to prepare and perhaps tastier than rabbit.  Also, since Darling Husband is 50% Welsh, I'm not allowed to be to antagonistic toward  this noble people.

Legend aside, it is a perfect meal for a cold winter night.  Here's a recipe for Welsh Rabbit from Laura Werlin's fantastic book The New American Cheese:

Melt 2 Tbsp butter over medium heat in a medium size saucepan.

Add 3 Tbsp flour and stir for 1 minute

Add 1/2 cup beer and stir until the bubbles start to cook out, about 30 seconds

     (I would suggest a more flavorful, darker beer.  Alternately, my mom used milk.  Less body, but better for kids...)

Add 6-7 ounces of grated cheddar cheese, 2 tsp Worcestershire, 1/2 tsp dry mustard and a dash of cayenne.

Stir constantly until the cheese melts.

Toast up 4 thick slices of substantial bread (Wonderbread will not work!)

Toast on plate, cheese sauce on toast.  If you're trying to eat veggies with all your meals, add a tomato.

*You can always try other cheeses - whatever you have.  Try Gouda or Emmenthaler for some happy melting.  A little fortified Sherry could be tasty too.  If you use white cheese, a little Paprika would add color. a tablespoon of Dijon mustard could be a nice alternate if you don't have any dry mustard in the house.

That's it!  Easy enough for a Welshman to do it.

Sweet dreams!  May your dreams be full of cheese and sweet bouncing bunnies!

Ricotta - a kitchen's secret agent!

There is a secret ingredient in your grocery store.  Liquid smoke, you ask?  Nope, though I've always been fascinated and repelled by that magical concoction.  I am referring to ricotta cheese.  It provides body and richness to lasagne.  Blended with a little vanilla, cinnamon, lemon zest, and maple syrup, it makes a sweet, creamy fruit topping.  And, when blended with some sauteed veggies, a little milk and a little pasta water, you have a great pasta sauce that even kids (maybe) will like.  Like a cream sauce, but without the heart stopping after effects.  A perfect meal - protein, carbs, veggies, low-fat (which is necessary when most of the rest of your meals include lots of bread, butter and triple creme cheese)

Tonight, as the pasta water was coming to a boil, I sauteed some bacon (if you're not into bacon, a sliced onion will do at this point).  When cooked through, I added about two cups of sliced brussels sprouts, tossed with some salt and pepper and a splash of white wine(which you can switch for some chicken or veggie broth if you're cooking for kids).  I then covered the pan for a few minutes to cook the sprouts through.  If, at this point you haven't added bacon, might I suggest about a tablespoon of anchovy paste?  It adds some great saltiness, and rather than tasting fishy, I promise that it just creates a sort of smoky richness.  I promise.

By this time, the pasta was bubbling away.  With just four minutes left on the penne, I added about a cup of low fat ricotta to the pan, along with about a quarter cup of milk and a quarter cup of pasta water to help thin out the sauce.  Taste check.  I added some red pepper flakes for fun.  When the pasta is done, drain and toss with the creamy veggie goodness.  Add some additional parmesean, and voila!  

BTW - if you have a gallon of milk, some citric acid or lemon juice, some cheese cloth and a strainer you can make your own ricotta!  Here's the recipe cut and pasted from the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company.  If you don't have citric acid lying around, you can use lemon juice as suggested here.  

Ricotta from Whole Milk

1. Use whole milk .. The fresher the better
2. Add 2 tsp of citric acid per gallon of liquid (dissolved in 1 cup cool water). Add 1/2 of this Citric Acid solution to the milk (save the rest of the citric acid). Stir briskly for 5-10 seconds.
3. Add 1 tsp salt
4. Heat the milk slowly on low to med stirring well to prevent scorching
5. At 165-170F watch for small flakes forming in the milk and the separation of small curds.
   If after a few minutes you do not see the flakes forming, add more of the Citric acid until they form (do this in small 1 Tbsp increments to avoid over acid milk).
6. Continue heating to 190-195F then turn the heat off
7. As the curds rise, use a perforated ladle to gently move them from the sides to the center of the pot. These clumps of curd will begin to consolidate floating on top of the liquid.
   Let the curds rest for 10-15 min.
   *** This is very important because this is the point where the final Ricotta quality is assured
8. Ladle the curds gently into draining forms (No cheese cloth should be needed if you were patient in the previous step). Let the curds drain for 15 min up to several hours.
   For a fresh light ricotta, drain it for a short while (until the free whey drainage slows) and chill to below 50F. For a rich, dense and buttery texture allow it to drain for an extended period of time (several hours). before chilling overnight
   Move to a refrigerator or cold room. Consume within 10 days

Let me know how it works if you give it a try!  

Cheese Straws!

Right before Christmas, I discovered a cookbook,  The New Best Recipe Book from the editors of Cooks Illustrated, that had been sitting on my shelf forever with no attention being given to the amazing recipes inside.  Lesson learned.  I made the best gingerbread cookies over the holiday, and thought to myself, "What else is in there?".  So, being the cheese head I am, I looked in the index under "cheese" and found "cheese straws."  "Hooray!"  I thought.  I'd just made some pretty decent collard greens for New Years, and was pretty sure I was successfully channeling my inner southern belle.  Cheese straws being a very traditional southern food would be a perfect next project, right y'all?  Well, being from Michigan with New England parents and living in California, you could safely assume that southern belle is a bit of a stretch for me.  Good thing the recipe was a super easy, non-Southern version, or I would have had to de-camp to Savannah (a bit of a fantasy of mine, but that's for another time...).

Anyway, the version I made was super easy - anyone can do it, even people who don't know where the Mason Dixon Line is.  Ready?
-One sheet of puff pastry, partially thawed.  Place it, unfolded, on a sheet of parchment paper.
-1/2 cup of shredded cheese (the recipe calls for Parmigiano Reggiano, but you could absolutely use Aged Gouda, Sharp Cheddar, or any drier/more aged cheese) sprinkled on top of the sheet of puff pastry with a little salt and pepper. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top and use a rolling pin to press the cheese into the pastry.
-Flip the whole thing over and repeat with another 1/2 cup of cheese and roll to press in.
-Slice into even strips with a pizza cutter or whatever
-Make into twists and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, rotating halfway through for beautiful, puffed "straws."

So, as I was researching this post, I found this amazing web site.  Hoppin' John has spent A LOT of time researching the history of cheese straws.  Turns out, the recipe I just shared with you is not officially a cheese "straw," but more of a cheese "finger."  And Hoppin' John, while complimentary about the fingers, refuses to admit them to the lexicon of Southern cheese straws.  I will not even begin to share with you the knowledge on his site, but I will tell you that real cheese straws are basically flour, fat, cheese, and a bit of spice - cayannne, etc.  More like a savory shortbread cookie than a cracker.  Think about it - it is HOT in the South, and until recently, cheese wasn't really something that was made there.  A great way to preserve cheese there was to bake it!  Puff pastry just won't hold up in humid, hot weather.  The first Southern cheese straw recipe seems to have surfaced in 1861, and they haven't gone away since.  And did I mention that they're delicious?  Crunchy and flaky, with a rich cheese flavor that comes from a cup+ of cheese, and the intensifying magic of the oven.  The addition of spice, either plenty of black pepper or cayanne, adds great depth of flavor.  Tastes great with Cabernet.  Give it a try!

Get that 70s Feeling - Cream Cheese Spinach Dip!

Sometimes it's not about where the cheese is from, or how it's made, but what you do with it.  Cheese, however, is always about how it makes you feel.  I've been enjoying so many fabulous, exotic cheeses that my palate has had a little bit of overload lately.  So, when I was supposed to bring cheese to a party recently, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  But my love of creamy dairy products got the better of me, and so I hit the grocery store for a package of original Philadelphia cream cheese and some sour cream.  I was going back to the 70s with the always lovely spinach dip!  Travel back in time without the polyester stretch pants with me, wont you?

Courtesy of the very last issue of Gourmet to ever be published, I bring you the following moderately adapted recipe:

- 4 shallots/spring onions sliced, 1-2 cloves garlic minced and sauted in 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

- add to the pot a ten-twelve ounce bag of frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry along with an 8 oz package of cream cheese cubed.  Stir to combine

- when the cheese has melted in, add either 1-2 tablespoons of anchovy paste or 1 tablespoon Worcester sauce and 3/4 cup of sour cream

- when everything is heated through, add 1-2 tablespoons of fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon + of dried tarragon, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste

Eat with pita chips, crostini or for that really retro vibe, some Triscuits.  Yum!  All we need now are some Swedish meatballs and a sauna to complete the 70s experience.  Here's a party that could have used a little dip...