Sometimes, simplicity and just working with what you have is all that you'll ever need in order to concoct a dish that will become of historical relevance. This exactly what chef Fred Schmidt did while working in the kitchen of Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky in 1926. With limited resources on hand and a hotel full of dinner-dance party guests working up an appetite, Schmidt improvised by taking a single slice of toast topping it with sliced turkey, dousing it in Mornay sauce, topping the toast with perfectly-sliced Roma tomatoes, toast points and running it under a steaming hot broiler until brought to a slow simmer. That's not all after removing the dish from the broiler adding several slabs of crispy bacon to close out the meal.
This open-faced sandwich has become a staple not only at the Brown Hotel but all throughout the state of Kentucky. The dish, now known as 'The Hot Brown' has become such a spectacle it now garners its very own annual best-of competitions. This dish is easily re-creatable at home and an easy meal to throw into your regular rotation of meals to make throughout the week.
Chefs made their way into celebrity land a while ago. But how many celebrities that weren’t trained as professional cooks are actually whizzes in the kitchen? Here are several that come to mind.
Actress Julia Roberts is confident about her cooking skills. “I’m quite a good cook,” she told E! News. “I’m like a closet home ec teacher…I can really cook anything.” Roberts has said she often cooks fish for herself and her kids. And speaking of her three children, “They think that I’m a good cook,” Roberts told People. “They actually told me that I should open a restaurant.” She also relishes cooking for the holidays, particularly shredded Brussel sprouts. Roberts hasn’t published a cookbook, but we did find recipes attributed to her for peach crisp and banana hemp muffins. Or you can make the same summer salad the actress supposedly eats.
Chrissy Teigen started off as a supermodel. Then her love of cooking filtered into her professional life too. At this point, she’s created recipes for a limited Blue Apron release and also just launched her own home and cooking line at Target named “Cravings,” after the two cookbooks she’s released. Teigen describes cooking as “a time of peace” for herself. So maybe peace out to her tuna melt sandwich or the fried chicken wings that are a favorite of her husband, John Legend.
Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, comes from a cooking Italian family. Her father started his own restaurant in New York and also published a cookbook. And apparently, Lady Gaga has inherited the family’s cooking genes. Her Instagram account occasionally features photos of her culinary activities. Sure, sometimes it’s topless cooking. But other times it’s more poignant like in the post she shared about her bringing food to the family of her dear friend who passed away. Want to try a Gaga/Germanotta family favorite? Check out her recipe for whole wheat pasta with a sweet fennel sauce.