My Take on Welsh Rarebit: Add Fried Pickles!

I'm always on the lookout for quick, easy, delicious recipes, and the Season 2 finale of Mind of a Chef (now on Netflix), was a treasure trove. In particular, April Bloomfield's take on Welsh Rarebit, commanded several viewings.

The dish consists of mornay on toast. Despite its ubiquity in Britain, it has always been obscure in the United States. Though delicious, I think its longer preparation time (about 10 minutes), and inconvenient open-faced presentation have prevented it from reaching the popularity of our own grilled cheese.

Having never tasted Welsh Rarebit, I decided to give it a shot. Rather than follow the video above exactly, I rethought the dish/cleaned out my fridge. Here is what I came up with:

 

Welsh Rarebit Americano

For Sauce
- 3 T all-purpose flour
- 3 T unsalted butter
- 6 oz. Samuel Adams Cream Stout
- 3 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 T Worchestershire Sauce
- 1 T brown mustard
- Salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste

For Pickels
-3 slices of kosher dill pickles
-1/2 cup cornstarch
-1/8 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 grinds of fresh black pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne
- Canola oil

- You will also need two slices of white bread.

1) In a shallow dish, combine the cornstarch, flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Pat the pickles slices dry with a paper towel, then dredge in the cornstarch mixture. Be sure to cover the entire surface. Place the slices on a plate, until there are no dry spots left on the mixture. Then repeat.

While the second dredging is sitting, heat canola oil in a shallow, non-stick pan to a medium-high heat. The amount of oil will vary by pan, but it should coat the entire bottom and be no more than 1/4 inch deep. Once the oil is at temperature, place the pickle slices in the pan. Be sure not to crowd the pan. This means that the spatter from each slice should not contact any of the others. Fry on each side until a light golden-brown. This takes about three minutes per side.

Once the coating is golden-brown all over, remove from the oil, and dry on paper towels. Set the pickles aside at room temperature.

2)  Preheat an oven to 400 degrees.

In a 10" cast iron skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, reduce to low, and mix in the flour, stirring until it is fully incorporated. Be careful not to burn it. Next, pour in the beer, and stir until the flour/butter mixture is fully incorporated. Next add, the cheese, stirring constantly until it is fully melted into the sauce. Add the Worchestershire Sauce, mustard, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Stir them in, then turn off the heat.

3) Toast two slices of white bread until dry on the outside, but not yet brown. Once toasted, spoon the sauce over the toast, and spread it until it covers the entire bread. Place the toast in the oven until the cheese sauce bubbles. Finish by placing the fried pickles on one slice, and placing the other on top to make a sandwich. Cut in half and serve.
 
My result was pretty good. Here is the cross-sectional view

What I did well

-Though April Bloomfield uses Guiness, I used the Samuel Adams Cream Stout. It has a sweeter, darker flavor profile (It reminds me of an Porter as much as a Stout) which cuts through the heavy ingredients.

-The pickles were spot on with regards to flavor and textural contrast.  

Where I can improve

- My sauce fundamentals were sloppy. Though still delicious, my sauce was a little thick and slightly overcooked. The butter and flour in a roux should be equal by weight, not volume, but I don't have a scale. If you don't either, it isn't worth fretting; unless you don't want the Ghost of Escoffier haunting your dreams.

- The bread was an overlooked component. This time, I used regular, grocery store sliced bread. In the future I will use a heartier, fresher bread. Also, it should be cut thick to accommodate the dense sandwich filling.   

A Tidy Photo-Scrapbook From the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

I recently completed my relocation from the great state of Connecticut to the kind of lame but economically viable state of North Dakota. It was a two day road trip that rates as one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life. Having already completed this trip (and its constituent legs) before, there was nothing novel or interesting about 48 hours of driving through boring places, sleeping at rest stops, living on fast food and granola bars, and crackly FM radio.

Anticipating this, I scheduled a detour to Cleveland to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I had never been to Cleveland, but Lebron James thought it was worth a second chance. I decided to give it a first.

To better learn the city in limited time, I took the side streets from the highway (i.e. I got lost a lot). In this way I learned that Cleveland does not rock. Lebron went back because he is the Coolest of Kids, and wherever he sits is the Cool Kid's Table. Northeast Ohio may be his home, but now it is his personal fiefdom as well. I enjoyed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but only go if you have some other reason to be in Cleveland.

With that in mind here my some of my favorite moments from the Hall of Fame:

My trip really began with a stop in Youngstown, Ohio for ice cream at Handel's. It's a mini-chain scattered from Illinois to Pennsylvania. Whenever I pass through, I stop at the original store just off Exit 229 on I-80. The ice cream is fresh and flavorful, with a custard-like texture. The caramel chocolate malt is the best ice cream I have ever had. This time I also tried strawberry, which was tremendous. Here it is being modeled by Michelle. She's the real rock star of this piece.

Here is the Handel's storefront. It hasn't changed since the first time I visited 12 years ago. What has changed is the neighborhood. When I first visited in 2002, Handel's was an oasis on a shuttered and crumbling road. Today it looks like an unremarkable commercial strip. Good for Youngstown.

One of the first exhibits in the Hall of Fame commemorates the great bluesmen. On display are guitars owned by greats such as John Lee Hooker, Freddie King, Robert Lockwood, Jr., and Elmore James. My personal favorite is Muddy Water's '58 Telecaster pictured here. Like other vintage Tele's this one has taken a pounding, yet looks good for many more.

The Hall of Fame also has extensive displays of performance apparel. This includes suits worn in performance by Hank Williams, and Bill Monroe, numerous James Brown jumpsuits, elaborate dresses worn by singers from Etta James to Beyonce, and even John Lennon's Sgt. Pepper's uniform.

This is a hand-tooled leather belt owned by Buddy Holly. It looks awesome yet it wasn't meant to be seen under his jacket. In keeping with his muted, nerdy look, Buddy wore his coolest accessory discreetly.

Though critical in the history of rock, Jimi Hendrix doesn't make for the best museum exhibit. His portion of the Hall is mostly occupied by stage outfits he wore. They are interesting as a whole, but there is no one piece of special importance.

Similarly, his guitars are not of great interest. Though a tremendous player, he plowed through dozens of Stratocasters and other guitars throughout his career. Thus, no one instrument takes on critical importance. This custom painted '67 Gibson Flying V is Jimi's most distinctive guitar, and his most copied. Though rarely played, it captures his fiery individualism better than any other tangible artifact. 

This is Duane Allman's '58 Les Paul in a faded tobacco sunburst. Nicknamed Hot 'Lanta, it was used extensively in the last several months of his life, and features on the album Eat a Peach. Duane acquired it through singer-songwriter Christopher Cross, which almost makes up for every time I've heard Sailing.

Though partial to Fender's during his session career, by the beginning of the Allman Brothers Band Duane had switched to vintage Gibson's, and put together a remarkable collection of late 50's and early 60's Les Pauls and SG's. Today they would be worth seven-figures, even if they didn't belong to the guy who did this.

On the back of the guitar, 'Duane' has been inlaid in used frets. This was done by the Allman Brother's road crew after Duane's death. 

These are Dickey Bett's hand written lyrics to the song 'Blue Sky' from the Eat a Peach album. The Allman Brothers (or their estates) have been very generous in allowing the Hall of Fame to display their historic memorabilia. I could have done a whole post on them.

 

This is Bootsy Collins' Fender Jazz Bass, which, after heavy modification became his famed 'Space Bass.' This is arguably the single funkiest instrument in existence. It was originally purchased for use during his time with James Brown. You can hear it on cuts such as 'Sex Machine,' 'Superbad,' and 'Talking Loud and Sayin' Nothing.'

Throughout the 70's, this bass was the driving engine behind the P-Funk Mothership, powering albums such as The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein, Mothership Connection, and Uncle Jam Wants You. 

This is the original control room from Sun Studios. Featured here is some of the equipment used in some of the foundational recordings of Rock and Roll. Not squeezed into the frame is the studio's piano. Although visually indistinct, it proved powerful and responsive to the touch of Jerry Lee Lewis.

This may be the most expensive two-guitar collection on the planet. Both these instruments are 1959 Les Pauls, which go for about $250,000. The one on the left belonged to Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and was his primary guitar in the band's heyday (It was used for the bottleneck part on 'Freebird'). The one on the right is one of Duane Allman's. This particular one can be heard on the At Fillmore East live album.