Great Eats with Petes

My mother loved the idea of scalloped potatoes but she was never too successful with them mainly because she tried to make them out of a box. My mother couldn’t make things out a box. She would mess up boxed macaroni and cheese but could make you an amazing one from scratch. Though she never really tried to make homemade scalloped potatoes. I think this is because it appears to be much more work than it actually is. The hardest part is cutting the potatoes thinly which I do with a mandoline (be careful to not cut your fingers. That is what the finger guard is for which, unfortunately Tom learned the hard way). I am sharing this recipe for you because one my mother could never master it but enjoyed this recipe (this one’s for you mom), two because it makes a great alternative side to mashed potatoes and three it looks pretty impressive on a Thanksgiving table. Enjoy!

2 pounds russet potatoes (approx 4), peeled and thinly sliced

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

Salt

Pepper

Pinch of nutmeg

1 spring of fresh thyme

2 garlic cloves, minced

Butter (for greasing)

Grated parmesan cheese (I used pecorino romano)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a saucepan heat the cream, milk, nutmeg, thyme and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the cream mixture up to a slight boil. Remove from heat and set aside (but keep it warm you may want to do this after you have already cut the potatoes).

Cut the potatoes using a mandoline or thinly slice it with a knife. TIP: If you want to peel and slice the potatoes ahead of time, place them in cold water. This will keep the potatoes from turning brown. Grease a large casserole dish with butter. Make one layer of potatoes in the casserole dish slightly overlapping the potatoes. Season layer with salt and pepper. Top with one to two laddle fulls of the cream mixture. Then place another layer of potatoes, season that with salt and pepper, top that with more cream mixture. Continue until you have filled the casserole dish and used up the potatoes ending with the cream mixture.

Top with casserole with grated cheese. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour or until the top is browned. TIP: Place the casserole dish on a baking pan just in case the cream mixture overflows. (It caused a lot of smoke in my kitchen because I forgot to do this this time).

Let the casserole rest but still serve it warm. Enjoy!