Hey Folks,
If y'all will forgive me, I'm trying to make up for shouting out about Bobby Flay's Hot Brown Throwdown. It was pretty lame. Sorry about that...
But pretty soon, we're all gonna have a boat-load of leftover turkey. No better time for a Kentucky Hot Brown. The Hot Brown was created by Brown Hotel Chef Fred K.Schmidt in 1926. Here's Cissy Gregg's (The Courier-Journal's late food editor) recipe, and it's supposed to be the original. Note the Cheddar cheese...
Louisville Hot Brown
4 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
8 slices toast, with the crusts cut off
Slices cooked chicken or turkey breast
Crisp-fried bacon, crumbled
Mushroom slices, sauteed
Saute onion in butter until transparent; add flour and combine. Add milk, salt and pepper and whisk until smooth. Cook on medium heat until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. Add cheese and continue heating until they blend. Remove from heat.
Put one slice of toast in each of four oven-proof individual serving dishes. Top each piece of toast with slices of chicken or turkey. Cut remaining toast slices diagonally and place on sides of sandwiches. Ladle cheese sauce over sandwiches. Place sandwiches under broiler until sauce begins to bubble. Garnish with crumbled bacon and sauteed mushroom slices and serve immediately.