I felt like I was back in time when I found this old recipe. There was a time when open-faced sandwiches were the coolest thing to eat for lunch. In fact, it was thought polite to serve them to guests. By the way, because they are so flexible, they can also be a good way to save money. My always thrifty mother used to make these for us when we were kids, and she only made cheap recipes. This must have been part of the draw for her.

When I saw the name, it made me remember how lovingly she talked about these sandwiches from Virginia and then Kentucky. I was thrilled to be able to enjoy this treat again as an adult, and the great taste of these single-slice sandwiches is the reason why.

The Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, is where the name “Kentucky Hot Brown” comes from. In 1926, the sandwich was first made for hotel guests. People used to go to dances in the hotel hall and say they were very hungry after dancing the Charleston or the waltz all night. At that time, the only late-night food available was ham and egg plates.

People who went to the balls more than once got tired of the same old things, so Fred Schmidt, the cook, came up with a new treat that could still be made quickly at that late hour. The name comes from the fact that this hot meal was served at the Brown Hotel.To make this recipe at home, you should start with strong bread that has been warmed to make it last longer.

My favorite is sourdough, but Texas toast or any other thick bread will do. I don’t think you should use the soft sandwich bread your kids pack for lunch because it tends to fall apart in the oven. Most of the time, turkey is used on top of these sandwiches, but you could also use ham or chicken. After that, put a layer of tomatoes on top, and then cover that with a thick layer of Mornay sauce.

It’s simple to make the sauce. First you make a sauce with butter and flour. Then you add milk and melt the cheese into it. For those of you who are impatient like me, you can use a metal stick mixer to help the cheese blend into the sauce more quickly. A little paprika and freshly ground pepper were always added by my mom to the sauce. I added some white pepper to my sauce to make it more interesting. Whether you like it or not, you could add onions or red pepper flakes.