Welsh Rarebit Mac'n'Cheese

Oh, what's occurrin'? Don't ask me what Welsh rarebit is. This recipe from Alton Brown tell me it's a flavourful cheese sauce made with yummy ingredients like Dijon, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and beer, which is then poured over toast. Hot damn that sounds good! All I know is I saw Rachael Ray make this Rarebit-style Mac'n'Cheese on TV once and it looked damn good. So here's my version. It's not a pantry meal - I don't usually have the ingredients lying around - so I do have to plan ahead but it's worth it.

This isn't a thick, creamy cheese sauce. It's quite thin, so it's more of a cheesy soupy sauce. But it does start with butter - 1/4 cup, with 3 garlic cloves cooking in it for 2-3 minutes. Then comes some hot sauce (I use just under 1 Tbsp sriracha) and 2 Tbsp Dijon (she calls for dry mustard, but I don't have any). Sprinkle in 3 Tbsp flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce and 1 cup porter beer - I used Mill St Cobblestone stout last time.

Then add 1 cup beef stock (she calls for chicken or beef, but I've always used beef for more flavour), let boil for a minute, and stir in old cheddar cheese - she calls for 2 cups, but I doubt I add that much in... maybe that's why it's such a thin sauce? All I know is that by this time, the sauce has a lovely kick to it. Then I mix with whole wheat macaroni.

It does end up a little different than the original recipe, because Rachael Ray, being Rachael Ray, wants you to cover it with breadcrumbs, butter and more cheese and bake it to make a crust. I skip all that - I'm much too lazy. I just pour it into a big bowl with the macaroni. I also like to throw in a token vegetable, like carrots, so I don't feel too guilty. The sauce is a delicious soupy mix of bold flavours and is quite addictive. It's the only recipe I use beef stock in, and Worcestershire sauce for that matter... I think the Welsh are onto something.