June 26, 2024 – Lather Games 2024 Day 26: Wildcard Wednesday, aka Impressive Djonut’s Djelicatessen
- Brush: Opus Brushworks – Djelicatessen Brush
- Razor: Chopstick Kamisori v.2.5 #RAINBOW
- Lather: Djonut’s Djelicatessen – Mornay Sauce
- Post Shave: Hartzler’s Family Dairy – Whole Milk
- Fragrance: Radical Works – Bacon Solid Cologne
Ahhh…it’s the annual day where half the sub awakes, posts a placeholder, and goes back to bed feeling good about themselves long before the sun ever rises on the Eastern seaboard. This year it looks like some of the less adventurous actually shaved, leaving the late risers in a frenzy as they keyword searched the thread to find out if another user sniped them, leaving them without their daily lather point.
Use of Theme: Wildcard Wednesday
Welcome to the third edition of what began from a friendly conversation with u/djunjilla about deli sandwiches, particularly the Reuben—ranked only number 14 by Far & Wide in their list of Most Popular Sandwiches in America, Ranked, but arguably the best by his and my standards—Impressive Djonut’s Djelicatessen
Year one was all about the iconic Reuben, which gets a lot of love in the Midwest yet is likely snubbed because of the sauerkraut.
Not wanting to waste the opportunity to meme a good comment, the Beef on Weck became the featured sandwich for year two and the subsequent opening shave of this year’s Lather Games.
If you were lucky enough to be having out on Discord the day I inadvertently tipped my hat, this will be no surprise. I set out to evaluate the list of popular deli sandwiches and came upon this Kentucky favorite, the Hot Brown.
Created the 1920s by Chef Fred Schmidt of the Brown Hotel in Louisville as a new temptation for late-night revelers of the hotel’s famed nightly dinner dances, the sandwich has gained world-wide appeal. These days, everyone and their brother’s cousin has a version of the famed sandwich, but before we go to the source for today’s recipe, The Brown Hotel, here are a few obligatory words about the shave theme.
Milk. It does a body good. Sri uses lots of it in Wholly Kaw soaps. My Mornay sauce lather is butter (another good ingredient), milk, and cream. More milk is good, so Hartzler’s Family Dairy Whole Milk is a nourishing aftershave lotion that does a face good. What can make this shave even better? That which makes anything better—bacon. Fragrantly finishing this fine shave is Bacon Solid Cologne from Radical Works.
The Chopstick Kamisori makes its return in a new V.2.5 #rainbow configuration with a comfort wrapped handle.
BONUS UPDATE! Making today’s sandwich!THE WORLD-FAMOUS HOT BROWN
INGREDIENTS
Makes Two Hot Browns
- 2 oz. Whole Butter
- 2 oz. All Purpose Flour
- 8 oz. Heavy Cream
- 8 oz. Whole Milk
- ½ Cup of Pecorino Romano Cheese (Plus 1 Tablespoon for Garnish)
- Pinch of Ground Nutmeg
- Salt and Pepper
- 14 oz. Sliced Roasted Turkey Breast, Slice Thick
- 4 Slices of Texas Toast (Crust Trimmed)
- 4 Slices of Crispy Bacon
- 2 Roma Tomatoes, Sliced in Half
- Parmesan Cheese
- Paprika
- Parsley
In a two‑quart saucepan, melt butter and slowly whisk in flour until combined and forms a thick paste (roux). Continue to cook roux for two minutes over medium‑low heat, stirring frequently. Whisk heavy cream and whole milk into the roux and cook over medium heat until the cream begins to simmer, about 2‑3 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and slowly whisk in Pecorino Romano cheese until the Mornay sauce is smooth. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.
For each Hot Brown, place two slices of toast with the crusts cut off in an oven safe dish – one slice is cut in half corner to corner to make two triangles and the other slice is left in a square shape – then cover with 7 ounces of turkey. Take the two halves of Roma tomato and two toast points and set them alongside the base of the turkey and toast. Next, pour one half of the Mornay sauce to completely cover the dish. Sprinkle with additional Pecorino Romano cheese. Place the entire dish under a broiler until cheese begins to brown and bubble. Remove from broiler, cross two pieces of crispy bacon on top, sprinkle with paprika and parsley, and serve immediately.
Daily Challenge: Clean Brush Talk
Every so often I’ll clean a brush with some Zingari Brush Cleaner. Mrs_D and Lil’_Donette have since taken to using it to clean their makeup brushes to great success. But let me tell you about how not to clean a brush that you have used to slather Russian Dressing all over your face.
I pretty much thought the Opus Brushworks Glow Dot brush I used for for the inaugural Djelicatessen shave was ruined, but I liked the handle, so I wanted to at least try to rescue it. I thought a deep clean with white vinegar might do the trick, so I pretty much submerged the knot for a while and forgot about it. It must have gotten bumped while on the counter and I don’t know what, but a spot on the handle that was now in the vinegar became bleached of color. The knot still smells like rancid oil and has a sticky feel to it. I haven’t used it until today and it turns out that letting your dogs lick the Mornay sauce out of it doesn’t work so well, either. So, kids, don’t use your nice shaving brushes to mess around in the kitchen!