A Secret Ingredient

One of the few prepared dishes I use regularly

I used to make Welsh rarebit frequently; sometimes I'd start with a white sauce and add mustard and Worcestershire; at other times I'd start with beer. Then I tasted Stouffer's Welsh Rarebit.  I stopped making my own, because I liked theirs so much. It makes a delicious light meal over toast, as intended. It also makes an incredibly good and useful sauce. (No, I have no connection to the company.)

I must admit that one reason I like the packaged variety is the serving size. It's perfect for one person, because I can either get two meals out it, or even three if I use it as a sauce. When I made my own from scratch, I usually had way too much and got tired of eating it.

Nowadays, I always try to keep a package of welsh rarebit in the freezer. It combines well with almost any vegetable, and also with meatloaf. Here are just a few of the ways I use this versatile item:

• spooned over steamed broccoli, cauliflower, or asparagus
• poured over cooked spinach or broccoli that has been served atop a baked potato
• replacing the hollandaise sauce in eggs benedict
• smeared on toast, put it under a broiler, and then served with raw sliced tomatoes on top
• as the sauce for eggs florentine (poached eggs over spinach)
• drizzled over asparagus bundles that have been wrapped inside a ham slice

Many cooks also use it to make mac and cheese, but that's not a favorite of mine, so I seldom make it.