They’re off and partying

I have no idea when basketball season starts or if baseball season ever ends, but I always know when the Kentucky Derby is running. The first Saturday in May is permanently on my calendar as the best excuse in sports for a party. Twenty-five years after I left Louisville, I still see the race as an incentive to drink bourbon, eat hot Browns and indulge in a pie that dares not speak its registered-trademark name.

No matter how far I am from the track, I know I’ll be partying like a Louisvillian. Over three Derbies there, I learned that the best fetes are not on the infield -- the people I socialized with avoided Churchill Downs like the human zoo it is and instead holed up at home to pour their bourbon with a clear view of the TV.

I tend to be a bit more patriotic about the menu, though. My friends served whatever they wanted in their hometown simply because they were in their hometown. My nostalgic side wants every dish to have roots and meaning, maybe even be the edible equivalent of the state song sung before the race (but not as sappy).

Some of the food I serve is grounded in Derby tradition and other dishes are just local favorites. I always make Benedictine, a cucumber-flavored cream cheese spread that was invented by a caterer named Jennie Benedict in the early 1900s in Louisville and was sold in just about every deli in town when I lived there. Thinned out with mayonnaise, or with sour cream, Benedictine can work as a dip; otherwise you can just slather it on crackers or party rye or make it the filling in a fat sandwich, maybe with ham or turkey.

The original recipe used grated onion, but green onions are subtler. It also called for green food coloring, but outside the South that just looks fake to me. Some cooks add dill to get the color, but a little of the cucumber peel can do the same thing and keep the flavor more direct.

I also always make bourbon balls, partly because they need to be done a few weeks in advance -- I know I have to have the party no matter how busy I get if a batch is gaining strength in my kitchen.

The bourbon that flavors them is as important as the bourbon we always drink straight after the first few attempts at too-sweet mint juleps are abandoned. The best bourbons for sipping, the small-batch brands such as Knob Creek or Woodford Reserve, also are best for cooking. They’re less cloying and add a smoothness and intensity that Old Granddad can’t quite muster.

The rest of the Derby lineup varies from year to year. I might make burgoo, the distinctive Kentucky soup that calls for half the vegetables in a lush garden, from lima beans and okra to potatoes and tomatoes. Originally it was cooked up with squirrel and rabbit, but chicken and beef do just fine. Burgoo has a long tradition at political fund-raisers, and it is a crowd-pleaser. But it’s best at parties where guests don’t mind juggling a bowlful along with a glass and a slab of corn bread.

Hot Browns also are a knife-and-fork enterprise but more than worth the struggle. Invented at the Brown Hotel in downtown Louisville in 1923 as an after-dance snack, these are sandwiches almost designed to absorb bourbon. Fresh roast turkey is layered under a rich cream sauce, broiled with a Parmigiano-Reggiano crust and then topped with bacon and tomatoes.

For bigger parties, I cut hot Browns down to two-bite size for hors d’oeuvres. These work better if the turkey and ham are diced and then mixed with crumbled bacon and the cheese sauce before being spread on baguette slices and run under the broiler. To vary the flavor, I might add a little Smithfield or country ham to the mix.

I have a whole repertoire of other Louisville favorites I can pull out, such as hot sausage balls made from biscuit dough loaded with Cheddar cheese. But the sure winner is dessert.

Everyone in Kentucky calls it Derby-Pie, in flagrant disregard of the family business -- Kern’s Kitchens in Louisville -- that invented the recipe in the 1950s and registered the name. I can’t say that, but I can call my variation one of the easiest desserts I know. The bourbon makes it heady, the butter and eggs make it gooey and the nuts and chocolate make it irresistible, especially if it’s served warm with whipped cream spiked with bourbon.

The best part is that you don’t have to wait all afternoon to try it, which is one more reason I follow the Derby. It requires the shortest attention span in sports: Two minutes, and you’re free to eat and drink.

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Hot Browns

Total time: 45 minutes

Servings: 8

8 strips bacon

1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) butter

1/4 cup flour

1 cup milk

1 cup half-and-half

1 clove garlic, crushed

Salt

Cayenne pepper

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup grated sharp Cheddar

8 slices sourdough or whole-grain bread

8 thick slices fresh roasted turkey, about 1 1/4 pounds

8 thin slices Smithfield or country ham, about 1/2 pound (optional)

About 1/2 to 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

4 small vine-ripe or plum tomatoes, cut into wedges

1. Fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool, then break each strip in half. Set aside. Heat the broiler.

2. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and stir until smooth and bubbly, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk and half-and-half while continuing to whisk. Add the garlic and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Cook until quite thick, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and discard the garlic. Stir in the Cheddar until melted. Season with salt, cayenne and pepper to taste.

3. Arrange the bread on a flameproof baking sheet and toast under the broiler until just barely browned. Remove from the oven and flip each slice over. Place each in a gratin dish or other flameproof serving dish. Layer 1 slice turkey and ham on each slice of bread. Spoon cheese sauce lavishly over. Sprinkle each liberally with Parmigiano.

4. Run under the broiler until the cheese sauce is bubbly and the Parmigiano is browned. Remove from the broiler and crisscross 2 pieces of bacon on each. Arrange tomato wedges alongside and serve at once, with knife and fork.

Each serving: 442 calories; 594 mg. sodium; 120 mg. cholesterol; 21 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 24 grams carbohydrates; 35 grams protein; 1 gram fiber.

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Benedictine

Total time: 10 minutes

Servings: About 6 (1 1/2 cups)

1 seedless cucumber

3-4 green onions, white parts only, minced

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

About 1/4 cup mayonnaise

Coarse salt

Crackers or toasts, for serving

1. Peel the cucumber, leaving only the thinnest strip of green on 4 sides. Grate very fine into a glass bowl. Scrape the mixture into a sieve set over a clean bowl and press out as much juice as possible. Squeeze with paper towels to dry completely.

2. Place the cucumber in a clean bowl and add the green onions and cream cheese. Mix with a wooden spoon until thoroughly blended. Add enough mayonnaise to make the mixture easily spreadable. Season with salt to taste. Spread on crackers or toasts, or use as a sandwich filling.

Each serving: 207 calories; 167 mg. sodium; 47 mg. cholesterol; 21 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 1 gram fiber.

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Bourbon chocolate pie

Total time: 1 hour, plus 1 hour cooling

Servings: 8 to 10

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1/4 cup good bourbon

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the sugar, flour and salt in a mixing bowl and toss with a fork until mixed. Add the eggs, butter and bourbon and mix really well. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Scrape into the pie shell. Bake until the top feels firm to the touch, 45 minutes.

3. Cool the pie on a rack at least 1 hour before slicing and serving with whipped cream (flavored with a little bourbon if you like). Once it’s cut, it can be reheated for better flavor.

Each of 10 servings: 469 calories; 212 mg. sodium; 69 mg. cholesterol; 29 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 46 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 1 gram fiber.