The Grilled Cheese's British Relative

During a recent trip to London, I had the pleasure of being invited to the Wolseley restaurant by some good friends. Built in 1921, the building was originally the home of the now defunct Wolseley Motor Company's car showroom. The rich (for lack of a better word) atmosphere, featuring large stone pillars, gold accents, and a grand staircase, really brings to mind the confidence that used to exist in the economy!

This lavishness may ultimately have contributed to Wolseley's downfall, but the space remained occupied by Barclays bank until finally becoming the Wolseley restaurant in 2003.

Despite the surroundings, the sad thing about all of this was that I was mostly just looking forward to finally trying the open-faced British relative of grilled cheese, the Welsh Rarebit... and for pudding no less!

My friend was also kind enough to pass along a recipe, which I think comes from Fergus Henderson. Here's what you need:

- 1 tablespoon of butter

- 1 tbs flour

- 1 tsp mustard powder

- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

- 200ml Guinness

- 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce

- 450g strong grated cheddar cheese

- 4 large pieces of toast

* In a pan, melt the butter and add the flour to make a roux

* Continue to cook on low heat until it starts to brown slightly

* Add the mustard powder, cayenne, Guinness and Worcestershire

* Slowly incorporate the cheese until it is all mixed evenly

* Remove the mixture and let it set in a shallow dish

* You can now spread the mixture on toast and carefully broil it in the oven until brown

Looking for a French offering? Try the croque-monsieur!

GG