KY Hot Brown + Honey Mustard Dressing
life is hard; food doesn't have to be #63 [vol2, 9.1]
One night in 1926, instead of the usual ham and eggs for the midnight dance crowd, head chef Fred Schmidt concocted a new dish for the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. He called it the hot brown after the hotel. It’s an open faced turkey sandwich with Mornay sauce (a creamy cheese sauce) topped with crispy bacon and slices of Roma tomatoes.
It’s a nostalgic dish for me. I grew up eating it after Thanksgiving with leftover turkey. If you go to Kentucky for Derby, you'll definitely try it. Here’s an original recipe. When I went back home last weekend, my mom had a new version waiting for me. I ate it for dinner and breakfast.
KY Hot Brown Tart
One pie crust (bought or homemade)
1.5 c chopped turkey or chicken
6 oz chopped ham
¼ c chopped onion
8 oz cheddar cheese
6 slices of bacon, crumbled
1 c half and half
4 large eggs
½ t sea salt
½ c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 Roma tomatoes, ¼ inch slices
Preheat oven to 425*. Roll pie crust into 12” circle. Place in a 10” deep dish tart pan. Line pie crust with foil and bake for 12 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
Layer turkey, ham, onion, cheese and bacon onto pie crust. Whisk eggs into half and half with salt and pour over meat. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until set.
*Mom used a pie pan and it was fine. She had more custard than would fit into her pie pan so she made an additional small, no-crust hot brown with the extra.
While this bakes, slice tomatoes and lay on paper towels to remove excess moisture. Arrange then press tomatoes lightly into set tart. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes more, until cheese is melted and golden.
Cool on a baking rack for 15 minutes before slicing for best results.
It’s still a million degrees in Arkansas so I made a giant chef’s salad for dinner this week and made a super-yummy dressing.
Honey Dijon Dressing
3/4 cup mayonnaise (made with avocado oil is best)
3-4 tablespoons honey (raw & local is best)
3 tablespoons mustard, dijon or other
1 tablespoon lemon juice or more
½ t sea salt or more to taste
Optional: 1T barbecue sauce
Combine all ingredients and whisk well. Keeps well in the fridge.
Life is hard, food doesn’t have to be.
Julie