Kentucky Derby Food Ideas

Star chef Bobby Flay smothers an open-face turkey sandwich with cheese sauce and bacon for his version of the over-the-top Louisville classic.

In this clever dish from Bobby Flay, he folds the classic ingredients of pimento cheese (a Southern starter made with cheddar cheese, cream cheese and roasted peppers) into warm, creamy grits, switching up smoky Spanish piquillos for the jarred pimientos.

Chef Cory Bahr tops his tangy shrimp with microgreens and serves them on a tomato and fresh corn salad.

Sticky, spicy and delicious, this Asian-inspired fried chicken is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

Humm's terrific summer salad is crisp and lemony, with bits of meaty pancetta and lots of fresh mint. Since the snow peas are raw, it's best to buy super-fresh ones, preferably from a farmers' market.

These nuts are an addictive combination of sweet, spicy and sticky-crunchy.

These deviled eggs get their terrific flavor from goat cheese, Dijon mustard and cornichons, plus a topping of country ham.

Little slices of party rye are a Southern favorite for tea sandwiches. If party rye isn't available, use a cookie cutter to create rounds from regular bread slices.

At Slows Bar BQ, Brian Perrone makes his mac and cheese using just cheddar, but its flavor is so rich that customers often assume he uses several cheeses. That inspired Perrone to create this decadent version, which includes cheddar, Muenster, Swiss and just a touch of cream cheese.

"When I was a kid, my mom would marinate cucumbers, red onions and canned potatoes in jarred creamy Italian dressing," says Jamie Bissonnette. "I'm not saying she was a great cook, but creamy Italian dressing is still my favorite. I make a version of it for this salad."

Lump crabmeat is mixed with only enough bread crumbs and mayonnaise to hold it together, then coated with more crumbs and fried to a golden brown. A mixture of sour cream and horseradish provides lively accompaniment.

Buttery and crisp on the bottom and gooey and nutty on the top, these bar cookies from pastry chef and cookbook author Mindy Segal combine honey and two types of salt in the rich caramel topping.

Jeri Ryan's favorite sandwich stuffing is a mix of crumbly cheese, crispy bacon and charred red onions. She likes the savory combination so much she's turned it into a salad with tender new potatoes. It's incredibly good as a side with grilled beef tenderloin or steak.

TV chef Carla Hall makes her own crunchy crackers to serve with her cheese spread, a riff on a Southern classic.

Crab imperial is a classic Maryland dish made with blue crab bound in a mayonnaise-based sauce. In place of the mayo, Michael Mina makes a hollandaise sauce, which makes the spread even silkier.

To amp up his creamy dill-and-chive deviled eggs, Bobby Flay tops them with tangy pickled shrimp.

At Trummer's on Main in Clifton, Virginia, Clayton Miller makes a highly seasoned, Indian-inflected tomato jam with ginger, cinnamon, cumin and cayenne. It's a terrific accompaniment to his hush puppies&mdashcheekily nicknamed "shut-your-piehole puppies" by the cooks in his kitchen.

"Scallions are so great with eggs," says Will Gilson. He adds them to the biscuits, which he fills with ham, cheddar and fried eggs; it's one reason the breakfast sandwich is so good.

Pastry chef Kierin Baldwin makes this insanely delicious, richly flavored, supercreamy semifreddo with a mix of maple syrup and maple sugar.

This is a terrific springtime version of a warm potato salad, with lots of scallions and little bites of half-sour pickles.

Thomas Keller's scrumptious recipe combines three of the world's most popular sandwiches--bacon, lettuce and tomato; fried egg; and grilled cheese.

For a more luxe version of this simple sandwich, replace the chopped capers with 2 teaspoons of white truffle oil.

Like many traditional Southern dishes, shrimp and grits is usually loaded with butter, cheese and sometimes bacon or a ham hock. This lighter version is completely meat- and dairy-free. The dish gets its flavor from sweet sauteed leeks and a quick white wine pan sauce.

"I usually make these sandwiches on days when there isn't enough time to sit down for a proper breakfast," says Sera Pelle, who wraps them in parchment paper for her kids to eat on the go.

The key to making these biscuits light and flaky is working the dough as little as possible. Shawn McClain adds Parmigiano-Reggiano to give them a great savory flavor.