In the '50s, my mother taught English at St Catherine’s School in Richmond, Virginia. Each spring, the cafeteria regularly served a dish the students and faculty loved— asparagus with cheese sauce on toast topped with bacon. Here’s a 21st-century spin on this reassuringly Eisenhower-era sandwich.
Ingredients:
1 large bunch of steamed asparagus
4 pieces of toast*
4 slices of bacon, cooked
A batch of Welsh Rarebit Cheese Sauce (Adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook, 1977)
made with the following:
1 clove garlic, mashed
1 ½ tablespoons butter
1 ½ tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon dry mustard
¾ cup of Samuel Adams Boston Lager
½ pound of sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
¼ teaspoon horseradish
dash of coarse black pepper
Process:
In a deep sauce pan, sauté the garlic in melted butter. Mix the flour and dry mustard together and slowly add to the garlic butter to create a roux. Wisk in the beer and cook over low heat until sauce starts to thicken. Gradually add the cheese and the remaining rarebit ingredients, stirring constantly until cheese has melted.
*The toast pictured comes from a whole wheat sourdough boule. If you want a more authentically '50s sandwich, use sliced white bread toast.
Theme and Variations
- Try this in the summer with fresh tomatoes slices instead of asparagus.
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For vegetarians, try broiling the asparagus for an extra zing. Place washed and dried asparagus on a foil-covered cookie sheet. Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Run under the broiler, turning the veggies every minute or two with a spatula until they are cooked and a bit blackened.
