Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Potatoes Au Gratin


Today starts a new series of three posts all having to do with a Holiday feast. Christmas Eve, Christmas day or New Years Eve would be perfect; I’ll leave that up to you. First up are potatoes Au gratin then roasted Brussels sprouts, and finally roasted pork tenderloin. You will have all three recipes by Thursday morning, giving you 24-36 hours of time to get everything you need. If you would like any of recipes early just drop me a comment and I will email them to you.

Ingredients
Potatoes- 1 ½ pound (sliced ¼ inch thick)
Gruyere- ¾ cup + 1 cup
Parmesan- ¾ cup + 1 cup
Heavy cream- 1 quart
Salt & white pepper- to taste
Flour- 1 cup
Butter- 1 cup
Milk- 1 pint (whole)
Bacon fat- ¼ cup
Nutmeg- 1 ½ tsp
Chives- ½ cup (chopped)
Method to the Madness
1)      Preheat the oven to 350. In a large sauce pot melt butter over medium high heat. Add the flour making a roux and cook for 2-3 minutes, thoroughly incorporating the butter and flour. Slowly add the Milk in batches. About ¾ cup at a time, do the same for the heavy cream. All the while stirring the entire time, should be smooth and creamy. Add the bacon fat. Bring to a simmer for 5-7 minutes; it will coat the back of a spoon when done, and run off slowly.
2)       Add the nutmeg, ¾ cup of Gruyere and ¾ cup of Parmesan cheese. Mix well and simmer for another 5-7 minutes. Incorporating the cheese until smooth and melted. Season with salt & white pepper.
3)      Spray an 11 by 15 baking dish with cooking spray. Add a layer of the sliced potatoes and cover with the cheese. Continue these processes until potatoes are gone, leaving about 2 inches from the top of the baking dish. Add the cheese sauce. And bake for 1 hour, until the top turns golden brown.
4)      Garnish with the chives and serve hot.
5)      ENJOY!!

3 comments:

  1. Potatoes with Gruyere, Parmesan and all the spices....I am darn sure this tastes heavenly!
    Happy Holidays!
    Angie

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  2. You can keep the christmas cookies... just give me a plate of this please!! Seriously, these are absolutely decadent looking and I know that they would taste amazing. Excellent recipe for entertaining since you can assemble everything ahead of time!!
    Also, love the "method to the madness"!!!

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  3. This seems to be one of the excellent cookie made from potato and I am definitely going to try it on my birthday, which is coming very soon. Thanks for the recipe.

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