Mini Kentucky Hot Browns

A few years back, I had a sweet friend call to say she needed a favor.  Dot was in her 80s, smart as a whip, funny as could be, and I loved chatting with her.  Dot was from Hattiesburg.  She had moved here in the late 1990s I think, and we knew a lot of the same people.  She lived in my neighborhood, walked for exercise, and my dogs and I did, too.  I got to know her.  Dot was a hoot.  When she needed a favor, whatever it was, I  said, “sure!”

She’d already told me months before that her son had a “few horses”.  She said it was so sweet that he and his wife kept these horses because his grandchildren liked them so much.  I was charmed.  I had visions of gentle trail horses that grazed all they wanted, and happily bore sweet young children in smocked outfits around the yard until naptime.

Uh, yeah, no.  That was not what was happening at all.

After I’d enthusiastically agreed, I asked Dot what she needed. Turns out she needed me to help her set up an online off-track betting account.  One of her son’s horses was running in the Kentucky Derby that weekend, and she needed to place a bet???  I’m not making this up.

Long story short, after fielding a couple of phone calls from American Express about suspicious transactions originating in the Cayman Islands, Dot had her account and it was up and running.  She was delighted.  I helped her load $20 into it.  Her son had offered to “send the plane” to fetch her to Churchill Downs, but she declined.  So I invited her to watch the Derby with us on Saturday. We ate Kentucky Hot Browns, Chocolate Pecan Pie, and drank bourbon.  The filly Tell A Kelly didn’t win, but a good time was had by all.

If you’re not familiar with the Kentucky Hot Brown, you certainly should be.  It’s an open-faced sandwich that originated in 1926 at the Brown Hotel in downtown Louisville, Kentucky.  The Hot Brown features sliced roast turkey breast on toast, covered with mornay sauce, and run under the broiler until the cheese sauce has browned.   Bacon, tomato, and maybe a bit of parmesan are added on top.  It’s a saucy fork-and-knife affair, and it’s delicious.  It’s not, however, finger food.  

I’ve never attended the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, but I love to watch it on TV.  It’s the most exciting two minutes in sports, after all.  Depending on how many people I have watching with me, full-sized Hot Browns may not be practical.  I learned long ago that bite-sized Hot Browns are easy to make, and very popular–even if a little dressed-down.  They pair well with Benedictine dip, pecan pie brownies, and a derby-day bourbon bar.  No hats or seersucker suits required.

For Mini Hot Browns I use turkey breast that I roast at home, but you can use a good-quality sliced deli turkey if you prefer.  I use either Velveeta, or generous amounts of white American cheese from the deli section at the grocery store.  I also use packaged party bread when I can find it.  This is the small, square bread sold in a loaf, often the deli department.  If that’s not available, I use ¼” slices of baguette.  I use thin slices of Roma tomatoes–they’re less drippy than larger varieties–and I put the tomato under the top slice of cheese before broiling.  Mini Hot Browns that are delicious yet easy to eat are the goal, and the cheese on top of the tomato holds the tomato in place.  Bacon, of course, is still the crowning glory. 

It’s post time!