Recipes

16 Recipes for a Kentucky Derby Party

Pimento cheese and Mint Juleps are great, but there's more where that came from.
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Photo by Laura Murray

If you're not going to be at the Kentucky Derby this year, you can still celebrate in style with classic food and cocktails. These 16 recipes have as much Southern charm as that fancy hat you'll be wearing at your shindig.

  • Image may contain Food Egg and Bowl
    ©Romulo Yanes
    5/16

    Bacon Deviled Eggs

    Why are these deviled eggs going to become your favorite recipe? The yolks are mixed with bacon fat.

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  • Image may contain Drink Cocktail Alcohol Beverage Vase Plant Potted Plant Pottery Jar Animal and Invertebrate
    Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott
    6/16

    Sparkling Julep

    Mint julep + bubbly? This cocktail recipe combines the two delicious classics and is the ultimate way to celebrate.

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  • A pile of fried chicken on a platter topped with sweet pickle slices and served with white BBQ sauce on the side.
    Photograph by Travis Rainey, Prop Styling by Alexandra Massillon, Food Styling by Luciana Lamboy
    9/16

    Buttermilk Fried Chicken

    The egg-enriched buttermilk mixture makes for an especially crunchy and craggy coating. This recipe is from Buxton Hall, one of the Hot 10, America’s Best New Restaurants 2016.

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  • Image may contain Human Person Food Meal Dish Skin and Plant
    Peden + Munk
    10/16

    Cheese Fondue with Beer and Bourbon

    Ah, Babybel cheese, the fancy French chef’s secret weapon for fondue—it keeps the molten mixture from separating, and its unassuming flavor lets the Gruyère shine.

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  • Image may contain Bowl Food Dish Meal Plant and Breakfast
    Alex Lau
    11/16

    Shrimp and Pimiento Cheese Grits

    Quaker brand grits work really well in this recipe, and they are distributed very widely. If you can’t find them, use any other white, medium-grind, long-cooking grits.

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  • A single tall laminated buttermilk biscuit as seen from the side.
    Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Claire Saffitz
    12/16

    BA’s Best Buttermilk Biscuits

    Quartering and stacking the dough creates lots of flaky layers that beg to be pulled apart and slathered with softened butter. 

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  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal and Plant
    Nicole Franzen
    15/16

    Fried Chicken Thighs with Cheesy Grits

    Yes, we think it’s a great idea to eat giant chicken nuggets for breakfast. But this delicious, indulgent dish works for dinner (and lunch, too). If you prefer white-meat chicken, use skinless, boneless breasts that have been cut in half crosswise.

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  • Image may contain Plant Food Seasoning Dill Fruit and Pineapple
    16/16

    Quick-Pickled Shrimp

    Serve the shrimp on toast to soak up the delicious pickling liquid.

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