The 138th Kentucky Derby is May 5, and whether you're heading to Louisville or just gathering at home to watch the race, here's a menu full of Kentucky flavor.

The Menu
Appetizer
Beer Cheese

Main Course
Kentucky Burgoo

Dessert
Bourbon Pecan Pie
Ale-8-One Cookies
Bourbon Balls

Click here for julep and other drink recipes

Photo: James Mann/Winchester Sun


Miss Hurley's Kentucky Beer Cheese
from Louisville caterer Sherry Hurley

Ingredients
:
¾ bottle of flat beer of your liking (in Kentucky, that would be BBC Altbier)

16 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

2 garlic cloves, minced

¼ medium onion, minced

¼ tsp. Tabasco or hot sauce of choice
¼ tsp. Worcestershire sauce (in Kentucky, that would be from Bourbon Barrel Foods)
¼ tsp. coarse ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. salt
pinch cayenne

1 tsp. dry mustard (optional)

Preparation:

Pour beer into a glass and allow it to sit until it loses all its effervescence.

Combine remaining ingredients in food processor and PULSE until slightly blended. Then turn processor ON and slowly pour beer through food chute. Mixture will be soft, but will harden in refrigerator.

Make one or two days ahead of time, as the taste is better once flavors have time to blend. Serve in a ceramic crock or ramekin with pretzel rods, crackers, celery sticks, carrot sticks, and radishes. Act like you've lived in Kentucky all your life.
 

Kentucky Burgoo
from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook

Burgoo is a culinary as well as social event in Kentucky. There's no standardized recipe—the stew was traditionally made with whatever meat and vegetables were on hand—but Matt and Ted Lee's version made with lamb, chicken, and beef is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

Click here for the recipe

Bourbon Pecan Pie
It’s hard to beat a fresh pecan pie, unless you add a little bourbon.
Click here for the recipe

Photo: Johnny Autry

Ale-8-One Cookies
Kentucky's Ale-8-One tastes a bit like ginger ale mixed with lemon-lime soda. Its distinct flavor lends itself to desserts of all types, but these cookies make for an easy and tasty treat.

Photo: Courtesy Ale-8-One

Ingredients:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

4 oz. (½ cup) brown sugar
10 oz. (2 cups) all-purpose flour


½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

10 oz. (1 ¼ cups) Ale-8-One

½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and brown sugar. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and cinnamon. Add flour mixture to butter and brown sugar a little at a time until well blended. Pour Ale-8-One into mixture slowly until a soft dough forms. Drop dough onto un-greased cookie sheet by teaspoonfuls. Top with optional chopped walnuts.

Bake 12-15 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute before moving to a wire rack.
 

Bourbon Balls
We're particularly fond of these mail-order poppers made with Knob Creek bourbon and dark, dark chocolate.  If there’s a better bourbon ball, we haven’t tasted it.
Click here to order.

Photo: Courtesy Happy Balls