Food
GIANT HOT BROWN
GIANT HOT BROWN
Makes: 8 servings
When you have a crowd hungry for a Kentucky Hot Brown, here’s what you do instead of composing individual plates. Serve this at your next dinner party or family gathering for a real taste of the Bluegrass State.
Ingredients:
- 8 slices white bread, toasted
- 2 pounds roasted turkey breast, cut into ½-inch-thick slices
- 4 cups Mornay Sauce (recipe follows)
- 12 strips bacon, cooked but not crisp
- 4 whole tomatoes, cut in wedges
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Cut the toasted bread in half diagonally and place half of the toast points in the bottom of a 9 × 13-inch baking dish.
- Arrange the turkey breast on top of the bread and cover with the Mornay sauce.
- Arrange the bacon on top of the sauce in a crisscross pattern.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the top starts to brown and the sides are bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and place the tomato wedges on top.
- Return to the oven for 5 minutes, until the tomatoes are slightly cooked.
- Remove from the oven and place the remaining toast points around the edges of the dish for garnish.
- Let cool slightly before serving.
MORNAY SAUCE
Makes: 4 Cups
Ingredients:
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 8 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups whole milk
- 5 ounces coarsely grated Gruyère (1¼ cups)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Directions:
- Melt the butter in a 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat.
- Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 3 minutes.
- While whisking, add the milk in a slow stream and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and gently simmer, whisking occasionally, for 10 minutes as the sauce thickens.
- Remove from the heat and add the Gruyère, whisking until melted.
- Whisk in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg until all the ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Serve immediately.
Recipes are from the The Bourbon Country Cookbook and That’s Entertaining by Tim Laird, America’s CEO – Chief Entertaining Officer, both available on Amazon and in local bookstores.
Instagram, Twitter, Facebook: @timlairdcheers