Hot Chocolate & Hot Browns
Today’s Meal Time Monday was hot, hot, hot!!! Kentucky Hot Browns and Hot Chocolate to warm your belly. I felt honored to feed some of our crew their first ever Hot Brown!! If you have any recipe questions, I’m always here!
Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon whole milk
- 1/4 cup sugar, plus more to taste
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch kosher salt
- whipped cream
- fun garnishes, i.e. crushed peppermints, sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, marshmallows
Instructions
- Heat the milk and sugar until steamy and hot, being careful not to simmer and boil over. Whisk in the cocoa powder and chocolate chips, stirring until smooth and melted. Add the vanilla and a pinch of salt or more to bring out the flavor and subdue the sweetness. Serve with whipped cream and garnishes of your choice.
Kentucky Hot Brown
Ingredients
For the bacon:
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
- 8 slices thick cut maple bacon
For the sauce:
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- 2 cups milk, plus more if needed
- 1 1/2 cups white cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, grated, can also sub a good Swiss cheese or just use additional white cheddar
- salt and pepper, to taste
- nutmeg, freshly grated, to taste
For assembly:
- 4 slices good quality white sandwich bread, such as DV8 sourdough, or 8 slices of a smaller country style loaf
- 12 ounces roasted turkey breast, sliced
- 4 roma tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, paprika, and cayenne pepper, if using. Lay bacon out on a rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle each strip with a thin, even layer of brown sugar. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until bacon is beginning to brown and crisp, but is not completely done, as it will continue to cook with the hot browns. Remove from oven.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then add flour and stir with a wooden spoon to form a roux. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes, being careful not to let the roux turn brown. Add milk all at once and whisk, while bringing mixture to a simmer.
- Continue to cook until smooth and thick, using a whisk to break up any lumps that form. Turn off heat and add the cheddar and Gruyere cheeses, stirring until melted and combined. The cheese will thicken the sauce, so additional milk may be added if desired. Season with salt and pepper and freshly grated nutmeg.
- Using a toaster or your preheated oven, toast bread until lightly browned. Divide into 4 individual oval-shaped baking dishes. Alternatively, hot browns can be assembled and baked on ovenproof dinner plates.
- Cover the toast in each baking dish with about ¼ cup of sauce. Then top with a layer of roasted turkey. Cover turkey with additional sauce and place two strips of the bacon on top in a crisscross fashion. Place the tomato wedges on the sides of the dish. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, until sauce is bubbly and bacon is crisp.
