Celebrating Kentucky

It’s that time of year again…football is back! I don’t really consider myself a diehard fan of any team (although, I suppose I’m a UT fan this year!), but I always cheer for my hometown team, University of Louisville. Yesterday UofL kicked off their season playing the University of Kentucky for the Governor’s Cup. Justin and I went out to my uncle’s to watch the game. He was very brave rocking his blue shorts in a house full of Cardinal fans…luckily he forgot his UK shirt in Knoxville :) 

After we watched UofL kick some UK butt, we kept on celebrating the state of Kentucky. What a better way than having Kentucky Hot Browns for dinner followed by Derby Pie for dessert! I was a little nervous heading into the kitchen. No one wants to mess up the famous hot brown! Ours didn't turn out quite as amazing as The Brown Hotel's famous dish, but it was pretty freakin’ delicious. I used a slightly different recipe than what is on their website.

Here’s What You Need:

½ cup butter

½ cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 pound roasted turkey

1 tomato

8 slices white bread, toasted

8 slices bacon

Here’s What You Do:

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.

Stir in flour with whisk & continue to cook and stir until it begins to brown. 

Gradually whisk in the milk until all lumps are gone. 

Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. 

Mix in ¼ cup of parmesan cheese & then stir in the beaten egg to thicken. 

Do not allow the sauce to boil once the egg has been mixed in!

Remove from heat & stir in heavy cream.

Preheat the oven’s broiler. 

For each Hot Brown, place 2 slices of toast into the bottom of a casserole dish. 

Layer turkey and tomato slices over the toast. 

Cover with sauce & sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese.

Place the dish under the broiler and cook 5-10 minutes until the top is speckled brown. 

Remove from broiler and arrange 2 slices of bacon on top of each sandwich.

Serve immediately & ENJOY!

To Make the Derby Pie, Here’s What You’ll Need:

½ cup melted butter

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup of chocolate chips

¾ cup pecans

Pie crust  (9 inch)

This is such an easy recipe! Here's What You Do:

Here’s What You Do:

Combine all ingredients and mix

(Slip in an extra 1/4 cup of Chocolate Chips when Justin's not looking)

Bake in pie crust at 350 for 45 minutes

Serve & ENJOY!

Our Taste of Kentucky meal turned out wonderfully! The best part was the leftovers that we got to enjoy today. We took our Holiday seriously and spent the entire day relaxing and eating. I hope you guys all had a fabulous, relaxing Labor Day too :) 

We're really, really bad at taking pictures of ourselves :)