National Welsh Rarebit Day

Today was one of my favorite food holidays to prepare so far. National Welsh Rarebit Day. When I first read about this dish a couple of months ago I was thinking, oh no rabbit! Eew! It's not rabbit. (whew!) Although Welsh Rabbit is another name for this dish. Maybe it was one of those missteps in translation that just stuck. Doesn't matter to me. I didn't have to make and eat rabbit, it involves homemade cheese sauce (yum) and it gave me a great excuse to make breakfast for dinner. That's always fun. Breakfast is my favorite. For serious. I actually had a morning wedding so that we could serve brunch at the reception. I.Friggin'.Love.Breakfast.

Welsh Rarebit is a creamy cheese sauce over toasted bread. I read a few different recipes and decided I would use them all loosely and make up my own. Some recipes used beer. Some didn't. There were different types of breads used. It seemed pretty up for interpretation so I tried it out. I am very pleased with how this turned out. Welsh Rarebit is typically a side dish. One recipe I read said it is good served over toast or poached eggs. Perfect. Breakfast it is. And I get to poach some eggs! Another fun first for me.

The three recipes I narrowed it down to can be found at the following links:

Alton Brown
Pioneer Woman
Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook (red & white checked one)

I chose French Brioche bread. I had never had it before but it looked and sounded perfect for toasting. The subtle hint of sweetness in the bread was pretty damned perfect smothered in a savory sauce! I lightly buttered both sides and browned them in an electric skillet.

For the cheese sauce I used half shredded cheddar and half American cheese. I used half and half creamer instead of beer. I did use the Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard and the dash of cayenne pepper. Since I decided not to use beer I added a decent sized splash of white cooking wine to give it a little nudge towards the "fancier" versions.

Bacon, poached eggs and orange slices seemed the appropriate choices to turn this side into a full on breakfast dish. I had never poached an egg before or even tasted one. This task has been on my long mental cooking to-do list so what the hay? Come to find out I can totally poach an egg and I even enjoyed eating it.

I am also pleased to report that the kids and my hubby loved this one, too. I am one happy mama tonight! Thanks for reading. Tomorrow is National Macadamia Nut Day and I have already begun preparing a tasty treat. You'll see!