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Au Gratin Potatoes The chef at Country Gourmet restaurant was making this and similiar dishes a lot for a few months. They were the best potatoes I'd ever had so I asked him for the recipe. This is my interpretation of what he told me. After you've made the basic recipe once or twice, try some of the optional ingredients. This recipe will stick to most
pans. I use a heavy gauge pan I got from
Williams-Sonoma -- it's coated with non-stick
material inside and out! It's a wonderful pan for
this dish!
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Ingredients:
3 pounds
Yukon Gold potatoes
1 pound yellow onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 Pint Heavy Cream
Optional Ingredients:
6 strips crisp bacon
1 cup Asiago or Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped chives or chopped green onions
2-4 teaspoons Chipolte Puree. (More
Info)
Directions:
Lightly butter a 9 x 9 pan, or use a non-stick pan.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Slice the potatoes 1/4 inch thick.
Note: It's much faster to do this in a Cuisinart using a 6mm blade.
Chop onion and saute with olive oil in heavy skillet. Cook over low heat until translucent.
Simmer cream in 3 quart sauce pan for 10-15 minutes. You want small bubbles, not big ones, or there's a risk of boiling over. You still have to watch it!
Note: You have to reduce the cream so it will have the desired consistency. It's better to do this in a saucepan where you can control the consistency than to bake the potatoes too long because the sauce is still watery.
Put a layer of potatoes in the pan. Top with some onions and any of the optional ingredients. Pour a small amount of the reduced cream on top. Repeat until there's no more ingredients.
Press down on the ingredients with your hands -- you don't want a lot of space between the potatoes. Top with the remaining cream.
Cover the pan with foil and bake about 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender to the fork.
Optional Directions:
If desired, you may top with Asiago, Parmesan and/or Romano
cheese at this point. Put back into the oven and broil for 3
minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and brown.
Serves 4-6.