Derby-Pie®
Perhaps the most iconic of all Kentucky Derby dishes is the Derby-Pie®; in fact, Derby is right there in the pastry’s name! Served warm or cool, with ice cream, whipped cream, or all by itself, Derby-Pie® is one of those treats that you just can’t pass up. The signature mix of chocolate chips and walnuts, the oh-so-light filling, the flaky pastry. Every time you take a bite, you feel like a cross between an amateur chef and a detective: Is that a taste of bourbon? Or maybe vanilla? No, it’s got to be a high-rye bourbon; the tartness will offset the sweetness of the chocolate…
Of course, the secrets of Derby-Pie® are closely guarded by Kern’s Kitchen, a family-owned company here in Louisville. The story goes that, in the early 1950s, George Kern was managing the restaurant at the Melrose Inn in Prospect, KY, just outside of Louisville. With the help of his parents, Walter and Leaudra Kern, George came up with a signature dessert for the restaurant. Once the recipe was perfected, the Kerns needed a great name for their creation, which combined the flavors of a chocolate chip cookie and a nut pie. So, they wrote several suggestions on slips of paper, and threw those into a hat. The winning name was, of course, Derby Pie, a reference to the big horse race just a few miles down the road. Soon, the Kerns were met with so many copycats of their delicious dessert that, in 1968, they filed for federal trademark protection of the term Derby-Pie®.
The Melrose Inn is long gone, having closed its doors in 2000, but the Kern’s Kitchen company is going strong, selling their delicious pies in restaurants and retailers throughout Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. For over fifty years, Derby-Pie® has been the taste of the Kentucky Derby for Kentuckians who are way too young to place a bet or order a mint julep, who miss their Old Kentucky Homes, or for those attending parties en route to the Derby. We may not know exactly what’s in a Derby-Pie®, but we know it tastes like Derby Season!
This post also appears on the Kentucky Derby Book blog. Special thanks to the folks at Kern's Kitchen for Derby-Pie® photos!}
2015 in Photos
Remembering 2015 with the best of HerKentucky's photos and experiences.
Saint Matthews in the snow
A Maker's Mark latte
Actors Theatre of Louisville LobsterFeast
UK vs. Cincinnati at the Yum! Center
Mint Julep fixin's.
Garden & Gun + Original Makers Club Derby Brunch
Jim Beam American Stillhouse
Mural, Downtown Louisville
Billboard, Downtown Louisville
Original Makers Club Summer Supper + Shoot
Original Makers Club Summer Supper + Shoot
Tomatoes and basil from my St Matthews backyard.
Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Chris Morris and Master Taster Elizabeth O'Neill toast a whiskey barrel.
Downtown Louisville from River Road
Maker's Mark Distillery.
Statue of Alice Geddes Lloyd, Alice Lloyd College.
Tobacco barn, Magoffin County KY.
Jennifer Lawrence Hometown Hero Banner, Downtown Louisville.
Louisville Public Art Installation.
Make-a-Wish day at Keeneland.
Breeders Cup 2015 program.
Churchill Downs from Millionaires Row.
King Louis XVI, Downtown Louisville.
My Kentucky-themed Christmas tree.
HerKentucky's Top 10 Posts of 2015
HerKentucky's 10 most popular posts of 2015
What a year 2015 has been for Kentucky! The Wildcats just barely missed the mark on a perfect season, Jennifer Lawrence continued her reign as the Queen of the Box Office, George Clooney got married, and Kentucky politics ruled national headlines for something other than the long reign of our Senior Senator. As we look back at 2015, I thought it would be fun to revisit the most popular posts here on HerKentucky.com.
1. I Am Not Kim Davis. Oh boy. This one was a doozy. People read it. A lot of people hated it; a lot loved it. I never expected it to go around Facebook as much as it did. I guess it's fitting that, since The Rowan County Clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples was the Commonwealth's top news story, an opinion piece about Mrs. Davis was HerKentucky's most-read post of the year.
2. The Five Best Doughnuts in Kentucky. Kentucky has a Doughnut Trail. There were popular "Donutucky" tee shirts this summer. And y'all had strong opinions about the best doughnuts in the Bluegrass State. I stand by my opinion that the girls from Hi-Five make the very best doughnut in Kentucky, but am happy to do some more taste-testing at Nord's and Spalding's to confirm...
3. The Five Best Hamburgers in Kentucky. It seems there's two camps in this world: gourmet burger enthusiasts and diner burger purists. You can't please 'em all.
4. Maker's Mark Bourbon Balls. My great-aunt's recipe has been in my family for as long as I can remember. They're fabulous every year.
5. The Five Best BBQ Joints in Kentucky. I'm happy to log as many research hours to this project as are needed. I don't know that there is such a thing as an exhaustive effort.
6. Miss America Heather French. In this post from HerKentucky's early days, Bluegrass Redhead Sarah Stewart Holland recalls her proudest moment as a Kentuckian, bonding with her new college friends and cheering on Miss Kentucky in the Miss America pageant. This lovely piece is always popular around pageant time!
7. Mary Breckinridge and Lilly Pulitzer. Who knew that there was a direct link between preppy fashion guru Lilly Pulitzer and Southeastern Kentucky? I loved finding out that young socialite Lillian McKim served the Frontier Nursing Service as a horseback messenger in the 1940s.
Mary Breckinridge's Nurses on Horseback
8. Lilly For Target. The sale that broke the preppy internet, and swept through every Target store in the country in less than an hour. The servers were wonky, and the quality varied, but there were a few really cute pieces in the Lilly Pulitzer x Target capsule collection. HerKentucky was on the scene with favorites from the Lilly lookbook and a guide to every Target in or adjacent to the Bluegrass State. A friend of mine actually heard some sorority girls talking about this post at a Southern Indiana Target as they shopped the insanity.
Before she made dresses, socialite Lilly Pulitzer volunteered in Southeastern KY.
9. How Barre Class Changed My Life. A year ago, I had two herniated discs, couldn't feel the fingers in my left hand, and was terrified that I'd never walk properly again. Barre classes at B.You changed my life in more ways than I could imagine. I've made dear friends, taken charge of my health, and have logged more workouts than in the previous decade.
10 College Basketball is Broken. I love college basketball more than just about anything else. I truly hate that it's become more a game of cover-ups, skirted regulations, agents, and shoe contracts than one of Xs and Os. I kind of went off about that one day.
HerKentucky's top posts of 2015 were as unique and diverse as the Kentuckians we write for and about. As always, thanks to all y'all for reading, and I can't wait to see what 2016 brings for Kentucky!
Louisville People and Lexington People
Testing the theory that Kentuckians identify with one of their two major college towns.
I've got this theory about Kentuckians.
It doesn't matter what county you grew up in, every Kentuckian identifies as a Lexington person or a Louisville person.
Oh, sure, you may live closer to cities like Cincinnati or Nashville. You may go to St. Louis or Charleston, WV or Indy or anywhere else to shop and unwind. But, when it comes down to college affiliations, sports teams, and generally which city you prefer, there can only be one. Nobody loves both cities equally. I've known plenty of people who drive from Western Kentucky to Lexington to shop, eat, or tailgate. Others may be from the Eastern mountains, but crave a steak from Mortons or Ruth's Chris or an Oxmoor Mall fix.
Of course, both cities are amazing. I've lived in Louisville and in Lexington, and have been very, very happy in each. There's no substitute for a night out on Bardstown Road, a play at Actors Theatre, or the view from River Road. But, I'm a Lexington girl at heart. I went to Transy and to UK. I grew up in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. I bleed blue. And, I'll always be a Lexington girl. I start planning trips to The Track (Keeneland, duh. There is only one!) or to see my 'Cats months in advance. No matter how long my license plate says "Jefferson County", my heart will always lie a little farther east.
Are you a Louisville or Lexington person? Take our quiz and see!
- Keeneland or Churchill Downs?
- Blue or Red?
- Cats or Cards?
- Woodford Reserve or Maker's Mark?
- Ramsey's or Ramsi's?
- I-75 or I-65?
Of course, if you answers were from column A, then you're a Lexington person; if you answered mostly Bs, then you're a Louisville person!
Which one are you?
My Kentucky: Paducah & Beyond
My Kentucky is the land of my ancestors - generations of people who have inhabited the same hills and streams and towns I call home.
My Kentucky is the place of my birth. It is my roots. It is my past. It is the start of my story.
My Kentucky is the centerpiece of my childhood where every 4th of July was spent on Kentucky Lake and every Christmas downtown at my great-grandmother's house on Jefferson Street.
My Kentucky is the place I couldn't wait to escape from as a teenager when every familiar place and friendly face seemed like a prison.
My Kentucky offered up a new life to me in college, when I drove east along the Western Kentucky Parkway singing Wide Open Spaces at the top of my lungs.
My Kentucky was independence and "big" city living in Lexington as I crossed North Broadway a thousand times and learned who I was during my time at Transy.
My Kentucky wasn't home for five years. Five years spent defending her to anyone who dare insult her good name.
My Kentucky waited patiently for me to return - secretly knowing all along that the only thing my children could or would ever be were Kentuckians.
My Kentucky has opened up a whole new life for me. A life I never dreamed possible.
My Kentucky is the promised land - rolling hills of green and dirt roads and wide open sky that fills you up and make you whole.
My Kentucky is one of the great loves of my life. There always. Supporting me. Loving me. Inspiring me.
My Kentucky: A Lexington Late Bloomer
Fried chicken, horses, white picket fences and farms.
Yuck.
These were my reactions when I learned that my family was moving to Kentucky. Granted, I was only 12 at the time, but based on whatever I “knew” about Kentucky, this was going to suck. I liked Georgia. I was leaving my world of friends, sweet tea, peaches, boiled peanuts and grits.
At Keeneland
Unfortunately, I fought Kentucky for years. My introverted nature made it hard to make friends, and I always longed for a different place. I spent my high school summers at fat camp near San Diego, where I tried to convince people that even though I lived in Kentucky, I wore shoes and didn’t have a horse. I dreamed of going to college in California, which seemed so large and amazing to me. I applied to several California universities and got in to them. Imagine my crazy disappointment when the financial aid and scholarships weren’t enough to convince my parents (who were going through a divorce and my mom was dealing with a degenerative neurological disease) to spend $20K per year plus all my expenses when I could go to the University of Kentucky for next-to-nothing.
I grunted and grumbled and dreamed of other, more exotic places I could be. (Yes, at that time I thought California was “exotic.” Silly me). I was an advertising major, and went to an advertising conference in NYC and decided that I could go to California OR New York. And for that point, I could also go to Chicago or Atlanta. Truly, my stubborn mind wanted to be anywhere but Kentucky.
Looking back, I can see where my loyalties started to change. My freshman year I went to UK basketball games and joined the frenzy of the Big Blue Nation. I had blue eyeliner to write “UK” on my cheeks, and had blue nail polish to match. I went to Keeneland a few times and liked the pretty horses. I met a down-home Kentucky boy and fell in love. I was hooked, for better or for worse.
My blood turned blue when I got to grad school. I quit my job and went into an intensive MBA program at UK. There, I spread my Lexington wings and finally learned how to fly. Nights downtown sitting outside a bar nursing a bourbon and diet coke after a day of tailgaiting, horse races and socializing at Keeneland. I discovered the Lexington Farmers Market, apple picking at Boyds Orchard, events at The Limestone Club, and corn hole in the backyard. And vineyards - did you know Kentucky has many of them, on old tobacco land? This girl even got married in one, under the speldor of the Kentucky fall (on the day that UK beat LSU's #1 ranked football team, no less. The UK fight song erupted over the DJs speakers). My grooms cake was Lexington's famous Spalding donuts, and we drank Kentucky wine and Kentucky beer.
I now hang out with a friend in her Highlands neighborhood in Louisville, wandering up and down Bardstown Road along with the hipsters in the hoodies and prepsters with Bugaboos. I even *gasp* joined the Junior League and quickly learned to appreciate all things Lilly Pulitzer, but more importantly, the value of serving the community. This summer I experienced my first Kentucky lake, with the beautiful surroundings and friendly, beer-drinking boaters. The rest of my family left Kentucky years ago, and I've chosen to stay here.
I may have been a late bloomer, but now, my Kentucky is my home.
My Kentucky: Heartland & Lexington
I grew up in Elizabethtown, Kentucky; Elizabethtown is a booming and growing city located about 35 minutes south of Louisville. Elizabethtown, or E-town as it's known by locals, was always known for being the "city" in close proximity to Fort Knox. This fact made E-town somewhat of a transient city. I had several friends growing up who were from military families that would move to E-town for a few years and then set sail to another city. As a matter of fact, I often find myself wondering what happened to those long lost elementary friends. My parents took me to Louisville frequently starting at a young age. As I turned 16, I was eager and willing to load my car up with girlfriends and head up to the malls in Louisville to shop.
After High School I attended The University of Kentucky. I quickly fell in love with Lexington as it was much different than the central Kentucky area that I was accustomed to. Lexington had that southern charm and small town feel while being a bigger city. I would move back to Lexington in a heartbeat. I love everything about that city. Springtime is a time of renewal- I have fond memories of walking at the UK Arboretum and gearing up for the Keeneland spring meet. Fall means back to school and the Woodland Arts fair.
I would be lying if I said that I didn't miss Kentucky. I go back quite often to visit my parents in Elizabethtown and pop in to Lexington and Louisville every now and again.