This past November we hosted our first American Thanksgiving. Before that we had been lucky to be invited to various friend’s Thanksgiving dinners, and before that we were in Canada. Our dinner was a very chill affair with a few friends—not a stressful and pressure-filled multi-day cooking feat. It’s hard for me to get SUPER excited about traditional thanksgiving fare so I chose to liven our meal up with a Mexican fusion approach to the usual veggie sides and roast. Since we were a small group I roasted us a chicken instead of a turkey and glazed it with a simple chipotle and honey sauce. It turned out moist and delicious. My other favorite was the brussels sprouts tossed with a chile and peanut sauce. Anyway, why am I telling you all this? Well, I’ve been wanting to share that meal with you guys, but a simpler everyday version. So here’s a weekday meal inspired by our Thanksgiving using the ubiquitous boneless, skinless chicken breasts, a pile of brussels and a simple to whip together, chipotle-honey sauce.
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Egg sandwiches are a mainstay of every corner deli in NYC, and for good reason: they’re cheap and easy, fast and delicious. Like most sandwiches, this recipe is really flexible. In particular, you can change the hash to use whatever you have around. You can also cook the egg like an omelette and fold it over with cheese wrapped in the centre if you really want this to mimic the classic deli egg sandwich. So if you don’t feel like venturing from your cozy nest this morning, try making this at home out of what you have in the fridge. Sad leftovers can take on new life when turned into a hash and matched with the rich fattiness of a morning egg.
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Here’s a simple and elegant Korea-inspired dinner. I put it together one night from bits we had around the house, most of which are common in Korean cooking. It’s very easy and hands-off. The potatoes do take a while to roast (an unavoidable annoyance of potatoes), but the actual hands-on prep work for this is no more than 5 minutes. So you could definitely do this for a weeknight meal if you get the potatoes going when you walk in the door or if you aren’t ravenous immediately when you get home. It’s a great date meal to impress your partner! The potatoes are creamy and richly buttery with scallion sharpness cutting through, and the salmon is salty and sweet and garlicky and the kimchi adds just a little funk and spice.
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If you know what welsh rarebit is you will probably instantly realize what a good idea a mac and cheese version is—feel free to skip to the recipe below. For those of you uninitiated into it’s glorious presence, listen up. Forget the strange name (British people love naming things all crazy)—welsh rarebit is an ultra savory, gooey cheese sauce made with dark beer and spiked with mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and a little cayenne pepper. It’s super indulgent, but a little more complex and grown up than your standard cheese sauce and is usually served bubbling on top of broiled toast at your favorite cozy pub.
So now that you are with me that this is the greatest sauce ever made, let’s make a macaroni and cheese out if it! I added some pan-fried broccoli to the dish as a nice counterpoint to the richness. It seemed like a good idea because it brought two amazing soups together, broccoli and cheddar, and beer-cheese soup.
This mac and cheese came together quickly, in just about 20 minutes. Quick enough that I made it for my lunch on a workday. It’s the simpler version of mac and cheese where you pour the pasta into the sauce, stir and eat. If you want the more traditional baked version, it will just take a little longer. For the baked variety follow the alternative instructions in the note at the end.
Welsh Rarebit Mac and Cheese with Broccoli
Welsh Rarebit, the hot, savory, cheesy, beery and a little spicy sauce that is a favorite of late night snackers in Great Britain, makes an appearance in mac and cheese with a little pan-fried broccoli for a counterpoint.
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Welsh Rarebit Mac and Cheese with Broccoli
Welsh Rarebit, the hot, savory, cheesy, beery and a little spicy sauce that is a favorite of late night snackers in Great Britain, makes an appearance in mac and cheese with a little pan-fried broccoli for a counterpoint.
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Ingredients
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2 cups
cavatappi or elbow macaroni (approximately 1/2 lb or 1/2 standard box)
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salt for pasta water
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3 Tbsp
butter
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2 Tbsp
flour
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12 oz
dark beer (or sub. 6 oz beer and 6 oz milk)
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1 Tbsp
dijon mustard
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1/2 tsp
Worcestershire sauce (optional)
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1/4 tsp
cayenne pepper (optional)
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3 cups
sharp cheddar grated
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1 crown
broccoli chopped into small pieces
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1/4 tsp
salt (or to taste)
Instructions
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. The water should taste like salty seawater. This is how the pasta is seasoned so don't be shy on the salt.
When the water is boiling, cook the pasta to al dente according to the package instructions. In my case it took 6 minutes. Finally, drain the pasta before adding to the sauce. (While you wait for the water to boil get on with the rest of the recipe by following the instructions below, but keep an eye on the water.)
In a medium-sized pot melt 2 Tbsp of butter on medium heat. Add the flour and whisk briskly to combine the butter and flour and create a roux which will thicken the sauce. Cook for about 30 seconds.
If you are not a huge beer and cheese fan or you are unsure about the strong taste, use the half beer, half milk variation. If you know you love beer and cheddar together do the all-beer version.
Slowly pour in the beer (or milk and beer mixture) about a half a cup at a time, whisking to incorporate the roux. It will look thick and pasty at first but thin out once you add all the beer.
Whisk in the mustard and the Worcestershire sauce and cayenne if using. Let the mixture heat until it just starts to boil. The sauce should be thick and beery smelling and dark.
Turn the heat to the lowest possible setting and add in the cheese. Whisk until it is all melted and incorporated into a smooth, gooey sauce. Turn the heat off and put a lid on the sauce while you finish up the recipe. (Check on the pasta water at this point and start cooking the pasta if you haven't yet).
In a pan on medium heat melt the last Tbsp of butter. Add the broccoli stem pieces and cook for 2 minutes, tossing occasionally. Add the broccoli crown pieces and salt and cook, tossing now and then, for about 4 minutes, or until just tender. Taste and add more salt if you think it needs it.
To assemble the final dish, turn the heat in the sauce pot to low and add the drained pasta and broccoli. Using a wooden spoon or serving spoon mix everything together to coat it. Heap into bowls and serve.
Recipe Notes
For a more traditional baked mac and cheese: cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the package suggests. Then pile the mac and cheese into a buttered baking dish and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes before serving.
