50 States; 50 Meals: Kentucky

You may remember back when we ate from Alabama we did so via web cam with my Husband, youngest and the Connecticut fam.  This time we ate all together in Connecticut.  I was so excited to finally make Kentucky Hot Browns!!  I first saw these open faced sandwiches on the Food Network show "Throwdown" with Bobby Flay SIX years ago and have been wanting to make them ever since.  So a hot brown is very popular in Kentucky during the Derby.  As I said, it is an open face sandwich topped with roasted turkey, Mornay sauce, tomato and bacon and Parmesan cheese.

Finished Sandwich

But... I didn't use the Bobby Flay recipe.  I went with one from Southern Living to be more traditional.  We couldn't find a turkey breast to roast so we cheated and bought turkey breasts from the rotisserie section of the grocery store.  I'm not complaining.  Less work for me.  One word of advice.  If you double the recipe don't double the Mornay sauce recipe.  I had a ton left over.

Hot out of the Broiler - Turkey and Mornay Sauce

In case the Hot Browns did not go over very well we picked up a bucket of fried chicken.  Not just any fried chicken... KENTUCKY Fried Chicken.  Original recipe, in case you were wondering. 

You can read all about how Harland Sanders, aka Colonel Sanders, first started making his chicken at a  service station and how he became a Colonel on the KFC website.

I headed back to the Derby for some more inspiration and decided to make a family-friendly Mint Julep.  I a friend of mine had shared this Pin with me around the Derby.  It is a Disneyland recipe.  Though we could not find creme de menthe syrup (vs. liqueur) anywhere.  So I improvised and used a can of mojito concentrate to get the mint flavor.  Our Mint Juleps were not as green as Disneyland's but they were still tasty.  I understand Maker's Mark makes a good Mint Julep bourbon too, just sayin'.

Next up is some Louisiana nawlins food.