Tour of Fifty States: Kentucky's meal

My mom, a.k.a Granny, was born in Middlesboro, KY. Her mother’s family lived and worked the coal mines in the area. When doing research for this project, I discovered some pretty interesting facts about this little town of just over 10,000.

The city claims to be the only one in the United States built entirely inside such a crater, as well as the home of ragtime music and the oldest continuously-played golf course in the country.

The town of Middlesboro, built in the crater, was established in 1886 to mine iron and coal, although the town's founder, Alexander A. Arthur, apparently did not know of the crater's extraterrestrial origin. K. J. Englund and J. B. Roen, working for the U. S. Geological Survey, identified the impact basin in 1962. The Middlesboro crater forms part of the string of geological features that made the Cumberland Gap, a critical westward passage during the settlement of Kentucky and the Ohio Valley. Starting around 1775, the Gap became the primary route of transit for settlers moving west; between 1775 and 1810 as many as 300,000 settlers may have used the Gap.

Without Middlesboro crater, it would have been difficult for packhorses to navigate this gap and improbable that wagon roads would have been constructed at an early date. Middlesboro is also the only place in the world where coal is mined inside an impact crater. Cool facts!

On another note, in 2012 Kirstin and I took a long road trip and one of our stops was in Louisville, where we visited the Louisville Slugger baseball bat factory. That was a fun experience and got to bring home a mini bat. We also visited the home of the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs, and several Kentucky bourbon distilleries in and around Lexington. Had I known about the Brown Hotel and its world famous Hot Brown sandwiches, we’d have surely stopped to try the local favorite. Here’s a link to the hotel’s description and their recipe: http://www.brownhotel.com/dining-hot-brown .

Menu : Kentucky Hot Browns, Kentucky Wonder Beans, Kentucky Bourbon Fudge Pie

Outcome: We all think the Hot Browns came out very well. Cheesy, bacony, and just really good! The flavor combination can’t be beat. The pie was rich and fudgy with just the right consistency. Mmm good! We each had a piece and shared the last 2 slices with Granny and Grandpa…hope they liked it as much as we did!

Next up: Bill’s turn! He chose Virginia! Two weeks away…

Kentucky Hot Browns

A Hot Brown Sandwich was created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, KY in 1926. It was created to serve as an alternative to ham and egg late-night suppers after the hotel’s dinner and dancing for 1200 guests nightly and it quickly became the choice of 95% of the customers to the Brown Hotel’s restaurant.

Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 10 min.

Ingredients

Mornay Sauce:

• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 4 cups half and half
• 1 ½ cups shredded Swiss cheese
• 4 Tbsp. shredded Parmesan cheese, plus additional for garnish
• 1  tsp. spicy mustard
• Salt and white pepper, to taste

Sandwich:

• 1.5 lb. thick sliced, roasted turkey breast, divided
• 12 slices bacon, cooked crisp
• 12 thick slices bread, toasted, crust removed and sliced diagonally
• 1 ½ large tomatoes cut into 12 wedges OR 6 Roma tomatoes, cut in half
• Paprika, to garnish
• Parsley, to garnish

Everything ready to be assembled

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to broil. Toast the bread and remove the crusts.
2. In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Cook, stirring constantly for about 4 minutes.
3. Whisk in the half and half and simmer until mixture thickens. Remove skillet from the heat and stir in the shredded Swiss and Parmesan cheeses, mustard, and salt and pepper, until well blended. Taste and adjust seasonings.
4. For each serving, lay one slice of the cut and toasted bread in the bottom of an oven safe serving dish. Set aside the remaining toast.
5. Add 2 thick slices of turkey breast on top of the toast for each dish and arrange 2 wedges of tomato at the opposite edges of the dish, along the base of the turkey.
6. Divide the Mornay Sauce evenly between the dishes, over the top of the turkey. Garnish the top with a pinch of the Parmesan cheese.
7. Place dishes onto a baking sheet and transfer under the broiler, leaving the oven cracked. Broil just until the cheese begins to bubble and it turns light brown on top. Using potholders, carefully remove the plates and place each of them onto another oven safe serving plate. Add the additional toast points to the plate. Sprinkle a bit of paprika on top for color, cross two whole slices of the crispy bacon on the top of each dish, and add a sprinkle of parsley and another pinch of Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Makes 6.

Hot Brown!!

Kentucky Wonder Beans

Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 10 min.

Ingredients:

• 8 cups trimmed heirloom green beans (Kentucky Wonder Beans) 
• 2 slices bacon, crumbled 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 2 tsp. olive oil 
• 1 tsp. sea salt 
• ½ tsp. coarsely ground black pepper to taste 

Directions:

1. Pour about 1 inch of water into a saucepan; add green beans, bacon, garlic, olive oil, sea salt, and pepper.
2. Bring the water to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and place a cover on the saucepan.
3. Cook beans until tender, 7 to 10 minutes.

Serves 8.  

Kentucky Bourbon Fudge Pie

Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 50 min.

Ingredients

·      1 prepared deep-dish pie shell, unbaked

• ½ cup butter
• 4 oz. Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate
• 2 Tbsp. bourbon
• 6 Tbsp. hot water
• 1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 large eggs, well beaten
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 cup pecans, chopped or whole

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Combine butter and chocolate in a glass mixing bowl and microwave until melted. (Alternatively, use a double boiler on the stove.)
3. Add bourbon, hot water, condensed milk, and eggs and stir until smooth.
4. Add vanilla, salt, and pecans and mix well.
5. Pour into pie shell and bake until center is set, 45-55 minutes.
6. Serve warm or cold, and topped with drizzle of Chocolate Bourbon Sauce (recipe below.)

 Makes 8 servings.

Kentucky Bourbon Fudge Pie

Chocolate Bourbon Sauce

Cook time: 10 min.

Ingredients

·         1 ½ Tbsp. flour

• 1 Tbsp. cocoa
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup half and half
• 1 Tbsp. bourbon
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ tsp. vanilla

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Thoroughly mix together the flour, cocoa, and salt. Add to melted butter, stirring until well incorporated.
3. Stir in cream, half and half, bourbon, and sugar, whisking until smooth.
4. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce has thickened.
5. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.