Is there a less appetizingly named food than the 'Hot Brown?' Louisville, Kentucky's culinary claim to fame doesn't look like much either - an open-faced turkey sandwich topped with bacon and smothered in Sauce Mornay (Béchamel with cheese), it resembles nothing so much as a junkyard covered in a layer of dirty snow, bits of this and that sticking out from the off-colored drifts.

The inelegant Hot Brown was born at downtown Louisville's thoroughly opulent Brown Hotel, supposedly whipped up from kitchen leftovers after a 1920s dinner dance, when hungry flappers fell upon the chef like a pack of wolves. If you're looking for an easy treat for your pre-Derby lunch, check out the original recipe on the Brown Hotel website. Feel free to substitute ham for the bacon, or add tomatoes, onions, etc.

I often feature celebirty recipes here, and most of them I get from Frank DeCaro's very cool site. It's always interesting to see not what celebs eat, but what they actually take the time to make themselves. I think it would be great to see Joan Collins making grilled cheese sandwiches, for example.

This recipe is from musician Moby, and it's chock full of veggies: olives, peppers, onions, tomatoes, arugula, etc. All put inside a nice loaf of ciabetta bread and topped with olive oil and spices. Full recipe after the jump.

NYC's Board of Health attempted last year to pass a measure that forced fast food joints to post calorie counts on their menu boards, right where people could see them (and, I guess, be horrified by them and run screaming from the restaurant. Or...something. Not quite sure what the city's goal was).

At any rate, a judge struck down the measure, so now they're back to where they started. But they're not giving up on trying to hoard their mighty caloric knowledge on the citizens of New York! By golly, they will succeed in getting people to acknowledge the 600 calories in that Premium Crispy Chicken Ranch BLT Sandwich they're eating! And then the Board of Health officials will sleep soundly at night, feeling virtuous that they have single-handedly handled the "obesity epidemic." Right?

For the record, Burger King and McDonald's already make this information available (it took me half a minute to find how many calories were in that Chicken McWhatever listed above), they just don't advertise it like the marquee outside of Radio City. Currently, if the city's restaurants want to display their food's nutritional info, they are more than welcome to.

And I mean, really, how many people nowadays don't know that fast food is bad for them? I highly doubt that prominently displaying caloric information will make people who have already walked through a eatery's doors gawk at the fat content and walk out of the store in a huff. I mean, if I want a cookie, I'm eating the cookie knowing that it's bad for me (and even secretly reveling in that fact).

If enacted, the regulation will go into effect March 31. So, until then, we can remain uneducated, bumbling masses. Sound good?

I've been reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a book extolling the virtues of eating locally (and the horrors of eating veggies trucked in from California, Chile, and other places far afield). Beyond simply pushing organic food or a vegetarian lifestyle, Kingsolver suggests that eating foods grown locally, in season, by farmers using sustainable practices can, basically, save the world -- not to mention, be delicious. I've swallowed her pitch hook, line, and heirloom potato, and have begun deeply rethinking our family's grocery lists. Starting this process in the dead of winter is a challenge, and "the sustainable food project" is my way of sharing the struggle with you.

The sandwich, a staple of my family's diet, is a particularly interesting problem. Were I to open a pictorial culinary dictionary under "S," I'd imagine a photo of bread, meat, tomato, lettuce, mayo. But fresh red tomatoes and leafy green lettuce are anything but in season in Oregon, where I live -- and the vast majority of the U.S. and Europe for the next several months. Because it's easy to find a sustainably-farmed source, we've been eating lots of beef, ham, and crusty local bread, but what else?

I've been able to find lots of delicious, flavorful options utilizing local, organic produce.

The Today show is running a contest in which they are attempting to name the best sandwich in America. They solicited recommendations from all over the country and have now narrowed it down to the top five. The finalists are a New Orleans Muffuletta, Pastrami on Rye from Katz Deli, Vesuvio's Cheesesteak BLT, a Maine Lobster Roll and Chicago's Frenchy's Fantasy.

I'm really excited to see Philly made the list with the Cheesesteak BLT from Vesuvio's (although I must admit that I've never tried that particular sandwich). However, I am sort of surprised that there's no Primanti Bros. sandwich, as that's a fairly outrageous and delicious sandwich concoction. And, where are the options for vegetarians? I can't believe that there's not some amazing sandwich out there constructed of greens, cheese and eggplant. You can cast your vote here, but in the comments, why don't you tell us about your favorite sandwich.

Though you could easily serve this for dinner, any "sandwich" that includes bacon, lettuce, and tomato automatically makes me think lunch. Either way, this twist on an old standard is enough to make me want to thaw out a steak and fire up the grill at noon hour.

Made without bread of any kind, this BLT Steak sandwich prepared by myamii at For the Love of Food is definitely friendly to those of you who are avoiding carbs but still want a flavorful, hearty meal.

I've never gone out of my way to add chocolate to lunch and dinner recipes (except for dessert, of course!). I know there are moles and even chocolate pasta, but I've just always separated the chocolate from the main course.

That might change with Hershey's Spicy Cocoa Sloppy Joes. I haven't had a Sloppy Joe in many, many years and was going to make them soon anyway, and now this just gives me another reason to make them sooner rather than later.

Given that April is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month, I couldn't let the month go by without making, eating, and posting about grilled cheese at least once!

Everyone has their favorite grilled cheese sandwich, whether it's a slice of Kraft American on Wonder White made at home, or some complex combination of fancy cheeses on fancy bread. People also have their favorite "accompaniments." My Ultimate Grilled Cheese is one I make at home: razor thin slices of sourdough bread filled with extra sharp cheddar cheese and thinly sliced tomatoes. I know tomato soup is a popular accessory to grilled cheese sandwiches, but I prefer just throwing fresh ones into the sandwich to make it easier. I have to cut the crusts off and eat them while I'm standing there over the chopping board, then cut the sandwich into long strips. When I eat them, I feel like I'm eating cheese-filled French fries.

Now, what's your Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich?

Anything molded into a heart shape automatically becomes appropriate for a Valentine's Day dessert. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course! It actually makes it much easier to come up with an appropriately thematic treat to end the evening. Nicole, from Pinch My Salt, made up this batch of wickedly delicious looking Naughty Ice Cream Sandwiches, which not only incorporate heart shapes, but lots of rich flavors to get you in the right mindset for celebration. The filling is made of Irish Cream-spiked vanilla ice cream, frozen in a thin layer until firm enough to cut with a cookie cutter. The hearts are made of very thin brownies that have been enhanced with some Kahlua, instant espresso and dark chocolate baked in a jelly-roll pan, then cut with the same heart-shaped cookie cutter. The results are stunning and, aside from the repetition of the cutting, very easy to pull off. Make them in advance and store them in the freezer for a late-night snack, or a great summer treat when it is hot out!

Joe, from Culinary in the Country, included these Honey-Chipotle Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches in a post about summer dishes. I'm not going to argue that barbecue is summer fare and that these would be perfect for, a cookout, but barbecue is also perfect for sporting events - which makes this sandwiches a great option for Super Bowl Sunday. The sandwiches are very easy to make. They start with chicken breasts that are boiled/steamed with a bit of garlic and cumin until tender, although you could very easily go with grilled chicken or a pre-cooked roast chicken - all you really need is a good amount of meat. The meat is then tossed with a simple, smoky chipotle sauce (that sounds like it would be good on pork or ribs, in addition to chicken) and piled onto toasted hamburger buns with a bit of smoked mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese.

The entries for Jif's Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich contest have closed and it looks like all of the participating kids worked really hard to get their entries just right. Jif has compiled the top ten recipes and posted them online where users can vote on their favorite.

The participants range in age from 6-12 and, while some parental help (possibly with knives and cutting) is allowed, these are definitely the kids' creations. The recipes include some really unusual, but creatively shaped "sandwiches," like the Peanut Butter Pool Party Sandwich, which is topped with a blue yogurt "pool" and teddy grahams. Others are more conventional takes on the classic peanut butter sandwich, like the Peanutti Panini, Kirsten's Hot Wrap Apple Breakfast Wrap and French Berry Jif® Toast. Check out all the recipes, especially if you have kids that will like the sense of participating in the contest by becoming recipe testers.

The winning child gets a grand prize $25,000 scholarship fund and four runners-up get $2,500 scholarships.

Even without tasting these, it is easy to see that they are going to be delicious, especially if you have any love for either carrot cake or cream cheese frosting. Much like Whoopie Pies, these Carrot Cake Cookie Sandwiches have a cake-like batter as a base, which bakes into a moist and tender cookie that is then sandwiched with a thick, sweet, satisfying filling. This batch was baked by JenJen, from Milk and Cookies, who reported that they were just as addictive as they look.

Because the batter for the cookies is quite wet, the texture is very similar to that of "real" carrot cake and this helps it to blend easily with the filling. The cookies themselves are flavored with cinnamon, brown sugar, walnuts and raisins. The filling is a simply sweetened mixture of cream cheese and honey that is beaten until fluffy, although a more traditional cream cheese frosting made with powdered sugar, vanilla and a bit of butter could be substituted to take this cookie from snack to dessert.

For a long time, I assumed that only some kids and a couple of adults nostalgic for the sandwiches that they had as kids cut the crusts off their breads. I love crust, personally, but now know a number of adults who simply don't car for it on their sandwiches. They don't cut it off in neat, straight lines, but it's obvious when they abandon crusts on their plates - repeatedly - after eating. As a nod to them, and to both kids and nostalgia, here is another crust-eliminating kitchen cutter. We've already seen one gadget for those who don't like crust on their bread, but this one offers the advantage of cutting the bread into shapes, as well as removing the crust. I wouldn't mind using the heart-shaped one from time to time, especially with Valentine's Day coming up. But I'll still probably eat the crusts after I cut them off my sandwich.

No one else puts a burger together quite like McDonald's - or, at least, that's what McDonald's thinks. The company has put in a patent application (WO2006068865) in Europe and the US that tries to stake the company's exclusive claim to their sandwich preparation methods.

If you have ever gone behind the scenes at McDonald's you will immediately notice the posters that visually describe the components of each sandwich to the cooks, but the process is more complicated that just a photo - especially if you follow the instructions in the patent application. Apparently, it involves the "pre-assembly of sandwich components and simultaneous preparation of different parts of the same sandwich." Bread (a.k.a. the "bread component") is toasted while a filling is heated. Condiments and garnishes, from ketchup to tomatoes and bacon - are put into an "assembly tool" and added, together, to the sandwich. And it is the making of sandwiches, not the making of "McDonald's burgers" that the 55-page application tries to claim in the name of the company, noting "often the sandwich filling is the source of the name of the sandwich, for example - ham sandwich."

A spokesman for the UK patent office said that, while they may be able to claim their "assembly tool" as unique, neither they nor anyone else can gain the exclusive rights to making a sandwich.

Sandwich Day has been over and long past, but I couldn't resist this gorgeous panini from food blog Cream Puffs in Venice. Usually, I like the idea of paninis, but find that because they are squashed down in a panini press, don't look quite as fabulously photogenic as thick sandwiches that are piled high with ingredients. Perhaps it's the fact that the photo is an extreme close-up, perhaps it's the angle and lighting, but this panini made with pesto, artichokes, prosciutto and Asiago cheese definitely looks voluptuous enough!