When the line-up for the 2015 Chefs Series was finalized late last year, I immediately called my friend Rhonda. Her daughter, Jen, and son-in-law, Nick, love to cook and adore chef/restaurateur Kevin Gillespie—so much so that I gave them a set of knives and Kevin’s first cookbook, Fire in My Belly, when they got married. Jen is one of my daughter Kara’s childhood friends and she grew up coming here, so Rhonda decided Kevin’s class and overnight stay at Serenbe would make a wonderful Hanukkah gift.

Kevin was Kevin: a brilliant mind in a good old Southern boy body. Little known fact: He turned down a scholarship from MIT to study cooking professionally. His class sold out and everyone loved being around him—he makes people feel instantly comfortable about being in the kitchen.

Everything Kevin cooked came from his second cookbook, Pure Pork Awesomeness: Totally Cookable Recipes from Around the World, which will hit shelves March 31. This is a big year for Kevin, who also plans to open his second restaurant, Revival, in early June.

For Sunday dinner, Kevin made black-eyed peas with jowl bacon, fatback fried corn, cabbage with ham hocks, country fried steak, crispy fried catfish and warm banana pudding. And for Monday lunch he did spicy sausage and kale soup, slow-smoked pork loin with bitter greens and a Southern version of croque monsieur with bacon he made from pork shoulder. Don’t want to make your own bacon? Me neither. But this recipe will be just as delicious—and decadent—with store-bought bacon.

Cottage Bacon Croque Monsieur

• Makes 4 sandwiches
• 12 thin slices of bacon
• 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons butter
• 1 loaf brioche or challah bread, cut into eight 3/4–inch-thick slices
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 3 ounces Fiscalini or other super-sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
• 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese

Arrange the bacon in a single layer in a large sauté pan and place over medium heat, working in batches as needed. Cook for 2 minutes, then flip and cook until the edges are crispy, the bacon is pinkish in color, and the fat starts turning translucent, about 2 more minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and repeat the process until all of the bacon is cooked. Remove the pan from the heat, add 2 tablespoons of the butter to melt into the drippings.

Adjust the rack in the oven to the highest setting and preheat the broiler to high.

Brush a baking sheet with the buttery bacon drippings and brush one side of each slice of bread with the drippings. Place the bread, brushed side up, on the baking sheet. Broil until the edges start to brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from the oven, flip the bread, and brush the other side with the buttery bacon drippings. Return to the oven and toast until the edges start to brown, another 2 minutes or so.

Decrease the broiler temperature to low and move the oven rack down one notch.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the remaining 2 teaspoons butter. Stir in the flour and, stirring constantly, cook for 2 minutes. Slowly stir in the half-and-half and bring to a boil; cook for another 2 minutes or until thick. Stir in the cheddar until melted and smooth.

Spread each toast with Dijon and a light sprinkling of pecorino. Build each sandwich with 3 slices cottage bacon and a toast on top. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and spoon a generous amount of sauce over each sandwich, making sure all of the edges are covered completely with sauce so they won’t burn. Evenly sprinkle the remaining pecorino over the tops of the sandwiches and broil until browned and bubbly, about 4 minutes.