April 17: Kentucky Hot Brown

Here I am in Kentucky, where I went to college, with my best friend, who is the cutest little pregnant person I've ever seen in my life. She barely even looks pregnant, and after spending the day with her, I am totally jealous that she's gained a total of about six pounds in seven months, because I just watched her wolf down a bowl of Ben & Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie ice cream with blackberries, as well as a bowl of lasagna at dinner and an order of onion rings at lunch.

I seriously love food here. We had Zaxby's for lunch, which, if you've never had it, has the best chicken fingers on earth. Kimberly and I have been looking forward to eating a whole bunch of fattening crap while I'm here, and today at Sam's Club we bought a chunk of smoked gouda that Kimberly argued with me bitterly about. She claims it's too much; I am not convinced that it is even enough. That is clearly the difference between her and me.

Kentucky has this sandwich. It's sort of a sandwich, I guess, it's more like a slice of bread with some stuff on it and what Kimberly and her husband describe as a "cheese gravy." That's pretty accurate. It's a local specialty, and I found the following recipe on the website for Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell. Kimberly agreed that this recipe was the accurate one, but insisted that I say bad things about Mitch McConnell. I seriously just had this conversation with her:

Molly: I don't know anything about him.

Kimberly: Well, everybody knows, Molly.

Molly: I don't.

Kimberly: Well, he's just...he's one of the leading...He's bad!

Mitch McConnell, you may be just bad, but your recipe looks delicious. You forgot the tomato slice on top, though; Kimberly claims that it's essential.

KENTUCKY HOT BROWN
1/2 Stick Butter
6 Tablespoon Flour
3 Cups Warm Milk
6 Tablespoon Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Beaten Egg
1 oz Cream, Whipped, Optional
Salt and White Pepper, to taste
Slices of Roast Turkey
8 - 12 Slices Trimmed Toast
Extra Parmesan Cheese, for topping
8 - 12 Strips Fried Bacon

Melt the butter and add enough flour to make a reasonable thick roux, enough to absorb all of the butter. Add milk and Parmesan. Add egg to thicken sauce, but do not boil. Remove from heat. Fold in whipped cream. Add salt and pepper. For each Hot Brown. Place two slices toast on a metal or flame-proof dish. Cover the toast with a liberal amount of turkey. Pour a generous amount of sauce over the turkey and toast. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan. Place entire dish under a broiler until the sauce is speckled brown and bubbly. Remove from broiler, cross two pieces of bacon on top and serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.