“That Welsh rabbit was ginger peachy.” ~ Meet Me In St. Louis
Often referred to as ‘Welsh rabbit’ or ‘Welsh rarebit’, this is the famous appetizer mentioned in the holiday classic ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’ and I finally got around to making it. I used this Food Network recipe by Alton Brown, which seemed like a strong foundation upon which to begin. It’s quite simple if you have all the ingredients (I had to get a can of Guiness for the 1/2 cup of beer required, but all the rest was on hand.) It’s basically a deconstructed grilled cheese sandwich of sorts, a bit of a béchamel with beer and dijon mustard for some kick, and couple drops of hot sauce to liven it up. Personally, I found it a little bland, and if I ever do this one again (most likely for a lark at a dinner party) I will be sure to tinker around a bit to give it some additional oomph). Otherwise, served over a bed of toasted rye bread, this makes for a decent winter treat after a bout of shoveling or ice skating or skiing or fill-in-the-blank-with-another-winter-activity-in-which-I-will-not-be-participating.
Side-note: there is no meat, rabbit or otherwise, in this dish. Google the reasons how it got the nickname. I’m in a post-holiday spell of laziness.
Other side-note: When Andy came into the kitchen and surveyed the dish, he simply remarked, “Somebody threw up on a plate” then walked out.
