Warming Up A Cool Derby Day

 Even though the temps say winter it's Spring and it's the first Saturday in May. That means it's the Kentucky Derby during a season that's unseasonably chilly. How to celebrate? With hot tasty Derby dishes.

Louisville right now is 62 degrees It's not exactly freezing there but it's not exactly warm. Most  of the country is unseasonably cold right now. It's the perfect time for a Hot Brown, the classic Louisville dish. This is a turkey bacon and cheese sandwich bathed in a piping hot cheese sauce. This is the perfect dish for a cold day. The sauce is a mix of cheddar and Parmesan but to give it more fire sub in pepperjack for that fiery kick. There's a pinch of nutmeg for more flavor but this can be hot pepper can be used to give a little more heat.Burgoo is another Kentucky recipe. This is a variation of Brunswick stew or boeuf Bourgignon and has a mix of pork beef and chicken in ir. These are cooked with okra,celery , bell peppers ,corm and onions. Smoky barbecue sauce is added along with a dash of hot sauce and garlic. You could add red pepper flakes for more bite. The same can be said of barbecue. This is pulled pork slow cooked in a mix of vinegar ,barbecue sauce and brown sugar. Add some hot pepper in there for warming heat.

The Derby is known for it's famed mint juleps. These are fine on a warm May day but you need something warming when that May day turns frosty. Think a cozy bourbon toddy. This is  mixing bourbon with hot water and honey.It's the perfect cure for a winter cold but it's also great to warm up too. Hot buttered bourbon is another toe warming drink. It's taking the Kentucky brew and mixing it with butter and apple cider. Warming spices such as cloves , cinnamon and ginger give it more fire as a dash of honey balances everything out. You could also give out cups of Kentucky coffee. This is the perfect marriage of coffee and bourbon.Like it's cousin,Irish coffee, it can be topped with a thick head of whipped cream. Sugar is added to sweeten it. Have it with slices of Kentucky transparent pie. This classic Bluegrass State dessert is sort of like chess pie except it doesn't have the cornmeal added.It is a blend of eggs mixed with white and brown sugar,heavy cream, melted butter and vanilla.

It's a chilly Derby day. Yet you can warm up with hot dishes and even hotter drinks to make you feel toasty inside and out.It'll make the day feel like a seasonable warm May day.

A Fun Book About Bourbon

We need fun and promise right now. Along with parties that feature alcohol and good food. There is a book out there. Which Fork Do I Use With My Bourbon :Setting The Table For Tastings, Food Pairings, Dinner and Cocktail Parties, Forward by Fred Minnick (South Limestone Publishing 2020). It's a fizzy book that chock full of fun facts, interesting history and delicious recipes.

Peggy Noe Stevens and Susan Reigler wrote this fascinating melange of facts and fun. Ms. Stevens has a background with bourbon, being founder of the Bourbon Women Association and the first female master bourbon taster in the world. Susan Reigler is a former restaurant critic for the Louisville-Courier Journal and a current correspondent for Bourbon + and American Whiskey magazines. She also has written other books on the subject. There's a lot of ideas and suggestions for bourbon parties but these can be adapted for other parties too. A plus is that the authors offer suggestions for gatherings for all year round and of course the big Kentucky event - the Kentucky Derby. Ms. Stevens and Ms. Reigler give suggestions for both formal and informal gatherings. Bourbon enthusiasts will love this book because it shows how to set up a bourbon bar. There is even a floor plan, perfect if you have enough room or a big yard.Since this is the South , there are also suggestions about sending out the perfect invitation which is crucial to any Antebellum do.I love the coffee table book photographs of classic glassware and silverware along with the decorations  - which Ms. Stevens and Ms. Reigler offer where to buy them.

As for the recipes they give some that I'm familiar with such as burgoo, a Kentucky classic. I'm surprised and just a little disappointed that there were no recipes for that Louisville classic, the Hot Brown. Many have bourbon as part of the ingredients as Granny Hunter's Bourbon Tenderloin or Chicken and Country Ham Crepes with a Bourbon Sauce. Since the drink itself is a mash of fermented corn , there is a  slight sweetness there that makes it an ideal ingredient. It gives kick to the acorn squash recipe, that flavored up with brown sugar and butter. This would be the perfect Thanksgiving side to a turkey.  There's also the intriguing asparagus with bourbon Hollandaise. A tablespoon of the drink is added to tradition Hollandaise sauce along with chopped tomatoes!!! Desserts also get a touch of it. There is a bourbon pineapple pound cake that requires just a store or bakery bought pound cake  with a sauce of bourbon, brown sugar and grilled pineapple. Of course there are the bourbon cocktails which all sound so interesting. There is the traditional Bold Old, a bourbon mix spiked with bitters along with a Baked Apple Pie Old Fashioned that combines apple brandy and cinnamon whiskey with bourbon and maple syrup.

Which Fork Do I Use With My BOurbon : Setting The Table FOr Tastings , Food Pairings, Dinners and Cocktail Parties is the book we need for right now. It give us the thrilling expectation that we can throw parties again. It's also perfect for those bourbon lovers looking to plan a summer of good drinks and good eats.

Derby Cuisine Kentucky's Best

Kentucky is known worldwide for it's derby which is being held today.However it's dishes also stand out as any thorough bred.They are rich in both flavor and tradition.The ingredients run from the tradition Kentucky brewed bourbon to seafood from the Gulf of Mexico. Kentucky cuisine is mix of German and Southern cooking.One section of it is across the Ohio River from the heavily Teutonic Cincinnati .There is goetta a kind of haggis that German immigrants brought to the frontier; it is a mix of oats and ground meat.Thyme along with bay leaf and Rosemary flavor it. Goetta is made in loaves and the slices are fried ,similar to the Pennsylvania scrapple.Syrups and jams are served with it however now most Kentuckians enjoy goetta burgers and dogs throughout the day.Sausage and beer are also family favorites.Southern cooking dominates the southern part of the state so dishes tendvto reflect mostly ham and biscuits.Cities such as Louisville and Lexington contributed some dishes like the famed Hot Brown and Benedictine sandwiches?The Hot Brown was invented at Louisville's famed Brown Hotel.This is a hot turkey sandwich with the addition of bacon and Mornay sauce.Benedictine is a cream cheese mixed with cucumber and served at another great Louisville hotel, the Benedict.It was probably used in tea sandwiches at the hotel teas at first but then became a state standard.Rolled oysters are another treat from this landlocked state.Developed by the Mazzoni family in their Louisville restaurant, it's three plump Gulf oysters dipped in batter and deepfied to golden perfection. A Kentucky is also known it's barbecue and other down home recipes. Most people like the open pit kind where. Chicken beef, and even mutton are roasted.Their barbecue sauces have a bite thanks to a heavy splash of vinegar.Barbecue is served with typical picnic fare such as onions, pickles cole slaw and potato salad. The state also was a frontier two hundred years ago and it's not uncommon to have a venison, possum or turtle dish.Burgoo, a variation of Brunswick stew is also made.This is a kind of thick potage made with any kind of meat ,from mutton to squirrel ,along with a melange of veggies such as corn,okra ,beans and potatoes.It is usually thickened with cornmeal or potato starch but sometimes wheat or oats arcaded.Any Kentucky meal should end in derby pie ,a walnut and chocolate confection laced with the state's signature liquer ,bourbon.This also figures in bourbon balls a scrumptious marriage of crushed cookies, Pecans and a good dose of their liquid gold.(or fire, depending upon your view). Celebrate Kentucky Derby Day with true Kentuck cuisine. Make a Hot Brown sandwich and follow up with a rich Derby pie. Enjoy a tangy mutton barbecue with a good swig of bourbon. this is the way Ketuckians party and party well.

Hot Browns Easy And Classic

A hot and tasty sandwich is good even during these hot days. Even better is when it's easy to prepare such as the Hot Brown. This American , Midwestern classic is more or less simple to whip up and even better to eat. A take on the British Welsh rarebit, it's perfect for that Saturday night dinner when everyone is at home or Sunday brunch with friends.


Hot Browns orginated in Louisville, Kentucky .back in the 1920's at the Brown Hotel where it was served as an early morning breakfast to all night party goers. Chef Fred Schmidt, its' inventor had to come up with something that would appeal to the jaded hotel guests who were quickly tiring of th eusual bacon and eggs. He put sliced turkey , tomato and bacon on toast , covered it with a rich Mornay sauce and baked in in the oven. it soon became an instant hit. Now, not only does Brown's still creates it but other fine Louisville institutions do as well.


A Hot Brown is easy to make. You can use leftover turkey or slices from your local deli along with bacon on toast.(I'd recommend a good challah for this to absorb the sauce). Add thickly sliced beefsteak tomatoes and top with the Mornay., The Hot Brown gravy is a basic butter and flour roux along with heavy cream added for body. Some recipes call for a beaten egg to be added, but this is up to you. A sharp cheese is then mixed in . The original recipe called for a Pecorino Romano but you can also sub in Parmesan(this is from Food Channel's Alton Brown's recipe). Ladle on to the sandwich and then sprinkle with extra cheese. Place under a broiler until cheese starts to bubble.


The Hot Brown is a perfect lunch or dinner sandwich. Delicious filling ,yet easy to make, especially on these hot days. Best of all it serves as a meal without all the fuss.