THE HOT BROWN

Ragnar and I delight in nothing more than indulging ourselves, especially when it comes to food. While I mostly indulge in my emotional whim, and Ragnar with his cigarettes and drink, there is nothing like indulging in local cuisine. And the Hot Brown sandwich particular to Kentucky raises the bar of any two pieces of bread. I've attached a picture of a Hot Brown, because I want you to feel what it was that I felt when the waitress put it down in front of me. What I first thought was - there's a sandwich in there? Oh yes, a sandwich. It is an open faced reality of white bread smoked turkey, bacon, and tomato covered in mornay sauce, which for those of you who don't know is bechamel to the 100th power with grated gruyere and parmesan cheese. This glorious knife-and-fork tower is baked in a cast iron dish until bubbling. Even those who have added a good thirty pounds on their road trip might have a difficult time finishing this rich beast. It was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten and I will be replecating it sometime soon, hopefully for an uptight urban dinner group. Oh, and our appetizer before the Hot Browns arrived was a heaping platter of POTATO CHIPS smothered in BACON and CHEESE. Come on people - you're killing us - literally.