Baby Hot Browns

 From: Southern Living: All-time Favorites cookbook

Ingredients:

16 pumpernickel rye party bread slices

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 pounds thinly sliced turkey

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Arrange bread slices on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 500 degrees for 3-4 minutes.

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat; add flour, and cook, whisking constantly, until smooth. Add cheddar cheese, whisking until cheese melts. Gradually whisk in milk; cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick and bubbly. Stir in salt and pepper. If desired, chill until ready to bake.

Top bread slices evenly with turkey. Top each with about 1 1/2 Tbsp cheese sauce. Sprinkle evenly with parmesan cheese and bacon.

Bake at 500 degrees for 7 minutes or until parmesan is melted.

What I did differently: I used regular slices of pumpernickel/rye. I broiled them in the beginning instead of baking them at 500 degrees (basically the same thing, right?) My suggestion would be to add the milk BEFORE adding the cheese. That's how I make macaroni and cheese. I followed the recipe instructions against my better judgement and the cheese was super gooey and didn't melt as smoothly as I would have liked. Trust me. Pour your milk in gradually to the butter/flour mixture, keep whisking, let it thicken, and THEN add that cheese. And we only had to cook it for about 4 minutes in the oven for it to be done. Perfection!

Cheese Sauce

From: My Mom

Ingredients:
1/2 - 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
salt and pepper
1 cup milk

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Add salt, pepper, and flour. Mix well. Add the milk right away. Stir until it thickens. Add cheese and stir until melted through. Let sit for a couple of minutes off heat to thicken up.

Verdict:
No picture, sorry! I wish I had a picture - this turned out beautifully. This was one of my favorite things my Mom used to make - broccoli with cheese sauce. I've had this recipe for years but never actually made it. Now that I've made it I can see it's going to be an addiction. I was literally scraping the cheese sauce from the pan to eat it. Delicious!!

Now, this is a recipe that she's made for years so there weren't many details involved. I will say this: I had the heat on medium-low to medium the whole time, even after I added the cheese. But the broccoli was almost done and I was noticing that the sauce was still really liquid-y... and I honestly didn't think it would thicken up on its own. So I decided to help it out - turned up the degrees a little bit, to about 7 on my stove (it goes up to 10) for about 2 minutes, stirring every so often so it didn't scorch. As soon as it started bubbling I turned the heat off completely and kept stirring. It thickened up beautifully and like I said, tasted wonderful. I know my Mom also uses this on asparagus. After eating it again for the first time in years I will probably eat it on everything from french fries to cereal. Just kidding!! Seriously, I highly recommend this sauce!