Category Archives: French Fridays with Dorie
French Fridays with Dorie: Potato Gratin
Photos are one way of sharing my kitchen experiments. For this recipe, I wish there were a technology that allowed me to share the aroma in my kitchen. It was truly amazing. Imagine the scent of browning cheese laced with the fragrance of the garlic-infused cream. Is your mouth watering?
For this week, I chose to make Pommes Dauphinois (in French) or Potato Gratin (in English). In other words, cheesy potatoes baked in cream. It sounds rich, and it delivered. There are only the two of us, so I (briefly) considered making half the recipe, especially because it said “Serves 8”. In the end, I went for decadence and made the full recipe. It was the right choice.
As delicious as it tasted, this is more of a weekend dish that a weeknight. By the time the potatoes made it into the oven, it was getting a bit late for dinner. We opted for chicken and rice leftovers from the refrigerator while the potatoes baked. Sticking with the decadence theme, we actually ate a helping of potatoes for dessert. Saying it’s a weekend dish has to do with the time. Other than the richness, this is not special occasion food, though it could be. It’s hearty family food too.
I made this recipe more or less as written. The only tweaks I made were to scatter a few sprigs of fresh thyme over the top, and add a smidge of gorgonzola to the Gruyere. I used the 2 mm blade on my food processor to make really thin potato slices. I was a little short on heavy cream, so made up the difference with half-and-half. I didn’t top off with any additional cream or milk.
Last night, we had the potatoes again with baked pork chops. It would have been even better with roasted chicken (maybe Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux which I hope to make this weekend). “Serves 8” means we’ll be eating this dish for another few days. That gives me a chance to come up with something else simple to go with it. A green salad will be a must too, to cut the richness.
I also made another half batch of the pumpkin-gorgonzola flans to use up the other half of the can of pumpkin. This time I added more salt, used skim milk (I used up all the cream in the potatoes) and topped it with maple-glazed walnuts instead of plain. Last week, I said these grew on me one by one, but revisiting them, I’m thinking they’re better as an idea than a reality and probably won’t make them again.
On the other hand, I’ll definitely make the Potato Gratin again. Thanksgiving anyone?
You can visit French Fridays with Dorie to see what others are cooking up this week.
French Fridays with Dorie: Pumpkin-Gorgonzola Flans
It’s Friday again, so here’s another post for French Fridays with Dorie (FFwD). Since the beginning of October, I’ve been part of an on-line group that’s cooking its way through Dorie Greenspan’s new cookbook called Around My French Table. Every week, people cook the same recipe and write a blog post about it.
One “assigned” recipe a week cuts down the number of other recipes I can cook each week, but it cuts out at least one decision I have to make. Plus, I’m requested not to share the recipes from this cookbook in my post, so it reduces the number of recipes I can share through my blog. However, I’m having fun and making and eating some delicious recipes that would have eventually tried anyway. I bought the book when it first came out, further increasing the size of my cookbook collection, which includes well over 400 volumes, evidence of many years of collecting. (See two shelves pictured above in the header on my blog.)
So far, I’ve been keeping up; I haven’t missed a week yet. I especially enjoy reading about others’ shared experiences with the same recipe. There are a lot of creative cooks in the world! It’s inspiring!
Aren't They Cute?
I was a bit unsure whether I would like these, so I took a cue from what some of my fellow FFwD bloggers have done with other recipes and adjusted the quantity. I halved the recipe, making only three, especially because the recipe said the flans were best served the day they were cooked. It’s funny, but I thought they improved with age. I was home alone the night I made them, so I had one as my dinner. Then, I ate the others for lunch on the subsequent days. I thought they kept fine for a few days, and they rewarmed nicely in the microwave.
I have to admit that on the first night, I found the flan a bit bland and was disappointed. Happily, the last one had the right blend of flavors. I’m thinking that I didn’t add enough salt and after sitting a couple days, some of the salt from the cheese made its way into the pumpkin mixture. In the end, I decided that I liked these flans, and I’ll definitely make them again (with more salt). They’d make a nice starter or side for Thanksgiving, if you’re feeding a smaller crowd.
On a related note, Dorie Greenspan did an interview with Michele Norris on NPR’s All Things Considered this week. I missed the original broadcast, but it was included on the NPR Food Podcast subscribe to, so I listed on my way to work this morning. She talked about the Hachis Parmentier, which I made and wrote about a few weeks ago. She is so delightful. Check out the interview if you have a chance. Dorie also shares the recipe on the NPR site.
A Plateful of Happiness 