HOT BROWN CASSEROLE

This is a recipe from the kitchen of the historic Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. I was staying at the hotel on business and had lunch in the hotel’s dining room. The Hot Brown Casserole was one of the items on the luncheon buffet. It was absolutely delicious! When I returned home, I sourced out the hotel’s recipe that appeared in the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper for this Kentucky classic.

Makes 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter

¾ cup all purpose flour

2 eggs beaten

6 cups milk

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

Salt and pepper to taste

16 slices white bread toasted

16 slices roasted turkey breast

Paprika

1 lb bacon

1 cup seeded and diced tomatoes

¼ cup chopped parsley

PREPARATION

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add flour, stirring to make a roux. Cook 2 to 3 minutes. Thoroughly beat eggs. Beat into milk. While stirring, very slowly add milk mixture to butter mixture. Stir in cup Parmesan cheese. Cook until mixture thickens, but do not boil. This will take 30 to 45 minutes. Mixture should heavily coat spoon. Remove from heat. Fold in whipping cream, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Trim crust from bread. Toast 10 slices in a regular toaster or place in pan under broiler until golden. Do both sides. Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-by-2-inch casserole and an 8-by-8-by-2-inch casserole. (I used 6 slices of toasted bread to line a 9-by-13-by-2-inch casserole and 4 slices for an 8-by-8-by-2-inch casserole.) If your casserole dish is large enough to accommodate 10 slices of bread, use only 1 casserole.

Top with slices of turkey. Cover with sauce, dividing the sauce between the 2 casseroles, or if using 1 casserole, spread all of the sauce over the turkey. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese and paprika. Place in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

While casserole is baking, fry bacon. When crisp, remove from pan and place on paper towels to drain. When cool, break into bits. Toast remaining 6 slices of bread. Cut in half on the diagonal.

After removing the casserole from the oven, place toasted bread around outer edge, point side up. Garnish with bacon bits and diced tomatoes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Serve while hot.