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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.
Patriotic Potatoes
The heat wave continues. We opted not to go to Maine for the weekend because of the weather predictions. There were some showers on Saturday, but not much rain at all. Friends on the other side of town said they had a deluge, so we were in some kind of dry pocket. That’s too bad because the garden could have used a long cool drink. Sunday was sunny and dry all day.
We’ve been eating lots of salads and other cool, low- or no-cook meals: more gazpacho, beet salad, corn on the cob, and tomatoes with fresh mozzarella. My favorite was the Red, White, and Blue Potato Salad.
Last week, I found red, white, and blue baby potatoes at the Lexington Farmers Market. I was going to make them into potato salad for the Fourth of July, but I forgot to bring the potatoes with us to Maine. So my potato salad had a one week delay.
Usually, I make my potato salad with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette. I got it into my mind that I wanted to make a creamier potato salad with fresh peas and dill. I cooked the potatoes and shelled the peas, but then, AFTER I’d been to the grocery store, I realized we were out of mayonnaise. There’s usually a jar in the fridge, Hellman’s or Trader Joe’s. Somehow, I didn’t know it was all gone.
I thought, “No sweat, I can make mayonnaise.” I buy fresh eggs, often from the farm where they are laid, so I am not concerned about salmonella. I pulled out the recipe card, and I sighed. In big letters at the bottom of the card, I had written “DON’T MAKE IN HOT AND HUMID WEATHER.” Obviously a note from a past experience. That corresponded to the exact weather we’ve been having, but the mustard dressing just wasn’t going to match the flavors of the peas. I went ahead with it.
Unfortunately, the recipe card said the mixture should be starting to thicken after about half the oil was added. It was still really runny. Maybe it was doomed. I added a spoonful of Dijon mustard and continued. Magically, as I added the remaining oil, it finally emulsified. I was back in business.
I was happy with the end result. The salad was the creamy potato salad I had envisioned. The green from the peas, scallions, and fresh dill gave it a fresh look. The patriotic colors of the potatoes gave it a fun look. It was delicious, though Howard says he prefers the one with the Dijon dressing. I’ll go back to that recipe next time.
Red, White, and Blue Potato Salad
Serves 4 – 6
2 lbs small potatoes, a mixture of red, white, and blue-skinned, if available
½ – 1 cup peas (freshly shelled or frozen)
½ – 1 cup sliced scallions (2 or 3)
½ cup chopped dill
½ cup mayonnaise, store-bought or homemade (use more or less to your own taste)
Salt & pepper to taste
Scrub the potatoes, and pierce them 2-3 times. Steam the potatoes until tender, about 30-40 minutes. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut into ½-inch slices.
Place the potatoes, peas, scallions, and chopped dill in a large bowl and toss gently. Add the mayonnaise and continue to combine, gently, until everything is coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
A Plateful of Happiness 