Friday 7/9 "Welsh Rarebit Mac N Cheese"

Rachael Ray meal.

Welsh Rarebit MacNCheese
•Salt
•1 pound short-cut pasta, such as cavatapi (hollow corkscrew shaped pasta) or penne or short-cut whole wheat or whole grain pasta (already purchased)
*4 tblsps. butter (already purchased)
•1/2 c. breadcrumbs (already purchased)
•2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped (already purchased)
•1 tablespoon hot sauce (already purchased)
•2 tablespoons dry mustard, such as Coleman's brand (a couple of palmfuls)(already purchased)
•3 tablespoons flour (already purchased)
•1 teaspoon lemon juice (already purchased)
•1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (already purchased)
•1 cup porter beer (already purchased--I just used miller lite! :))
•1 cup beef or chicken stock (already purchased)
•2 1/2 cups extra-sharp yellow cheddar cheese, shredded, divided ($1.96)
•Black pepper

PREPARATION
Pre-heat the oven to 350˚F.
Bring the pasta water to a boil; salt the water and cook the pasta for 5-6 minutes, until just shy of al dente.

Melt the butter in a saucepot over medium heat. Add the garlic and gently cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the hot sauce and mustard and stir to combine, then sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and beer; cook the beer out for 30 seconds, then add the stock and bring to a bubble. Thicken for a minute more. Stir in 2 cups of cheese in a figure-eight motion and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Toss the pasta with the Rarebit sauce and spoon into individual baking dishes or a casserole dish. Top with breadcrumbs and the remaining sprinkle of cheese, then place on the middle rack of the oven and broil for 2-3 minutes, until bubbly and deeply brown on top.

The verdict: Okay. Homemade macncheese is hard to do. This one was a little flour-y. Also, it was too too salty for me. I would say don't add salt at all and use less flour. I would also add more hot sauce, but that is just me. All in all, it was okay, but I had almost everything in my pantry, so you can beat. $1.96.