Potato & Cheese Casserole

Not to sound like a snob, but I hate the way Americans pronounce "potatoes au gratin." It's "oh gruh-TAN," where the 'n' is barely pronounced, not "aww GRATT-in." Honestly, I hate when people exaggerate foreign accents - for example, saying "chee-lay" for Chile or "gabba-gool" for capicola - but there's a difference between forcing an accent and pronouncing something correctly.

Whatever, let's just bypass the problem and call it a potato and cheese casserole instead. Crisis averted, people. Now, I'm calling this particular version gruyere potato casserole because I used gruyere but you could use almost any melty cheese you like.

Ingredients:

4 medium potatoes

1 cup shredded cheese

1 cup cream

2 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

butter for greasing

Start by mixing together the minced garlic, salt, pepper, and heavy cream. Set aside and move onto the cheese.

Grate the cheese - I used gruyere - and then set this aside and move onto the task of greasing the pan.

Grease a 9" x 9" pan with lots of butter. Not only will the butter prevent the casserole from sticking to the pan, it will also help a crust to form around the edges.

The last step is to slice the potatoes, somewhere around 1/8" to 1/4". I used a mandolin to slice the potatoes. And, I left the skins on and went for a slightly thicker slice (closer to 1/4"), as I wanted the dish to be a bit heartier and more rustic. Peeled and thinly sliced potatoes is more traditional, but I'm a rebel.

To assemble, place a few potatoes in the bottom of the dish to create a single layer, overlapping a bit. Next, pour a little of the flavored cream all over and sprinkle with cheese. Add another layer of potatoes and again, drizzle with cream and sprinkle with cheese. Continue until you've used up all of the ingredients, finishing with the cheese.

It should look a little something like this when you're done assembling.

Place the dish on a sheet pan, just in case there's any bubbling over, and cover the dish with foil. Bake at 400F for about 45 minutes, or until a knife stuck into the potatoes comes out easily. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes to get a bit of browning.

Remove from the oven and serve while it's still piping hot.

I served the potatoes alongside a pile of butter basted ribeye steak, sauteed mushrooms and green beans, and some sweet corn. I feel like this spread looks lovely and homey and rustic, like something you might be served at a neighbor's farmhouse or something. No? Okay, I guess I'm just being weird.

The potatoes are so creamy and cheesy and delicious. To me, this is the perfect cold weather supper.

Here's the recipe page: