Potatoes Au Gratin - Scalloped Potatoes

While visiting the haunted hills of Northern California this weekend I was blessed to be served Potatoes Au Gratin by a good friend in his home on his land.  They were so simple... so easy... It's time to enjoy them again, here with the Chef of Enlightenment.  The spirit of this food was comfort... and it filled us with good feelings.  Satiety!  Let's begin!

NOTE - Most versions of this meal that I've researched in cook books and on the internet are a bit different.  1. They use a cream mixture.  We aren't going to do that (for reasons explained below).  2.  Most do NOT include some type of Ham or Bacon.  We ARE going to include ham/bacon.  Interestingly enough... growing up my Mom's Au Gratin always had ham in it AND a cream mixture.  So... if you are messing around learning the variations of this great recipe, making it your own, try it without ham one time... and then another time try it without the cream mixture.  And then just to be wild, try it with both!  

Who is your daddy? That would be me... your Chef of Enlightenment.  And this journey on your enlightenment trail requires a few items. Usually less is better, and that's definitely the case with the Chef's Au Gratin potatoes! Here are your ingredients of my version (inspired by my friend in Norther California).  Do you feel the magic? How SIMPLE.  A lot of people are going to tell you to use cream... and milk... and butter... but what do they know?  Okay... I like creamy Au Gratin too, but this recipe doesn't use those and you'll never miss them.  And lest you think we are doing this for some health reason think again.  It's just that we don't need them.

Preheat your oven to 425.

Slice your ham up.    I used some pretty fatty ham. I would be cognizant of choosing leaner ham next time.

Cut up your sausage!

Dice your onions up.  I'm using a red onion, which has a different flavor than regular onions.  Choose which one you prefer.

Grate your own cheese, or you can use pre-bought grated cheese.  

Look at these beauties!  Most recipes are going to tell you use russet potoatoes, and feel free to do that if you want.  This version uses red potatoes, which I prefer.  

I'm not going to peel them.  As someone else in the recipe industry once said, it's against my religion.  I don't peel taters.  My Mom (bless her soul) peeled every potato she ever cooked, except baked potatoes, and I can feel her disapproval from here.  

So... feel free to peel them if you want.  I don't.

So... clean them up, and then slice them thin.  I know people who slice them thick and then cut them into chunks.  That's crazy!  Don't do that!  Cut them thin!  Scallop them!

Get yourself a glass casserole dish.  

Now... think LAYERS!  Like Ogres... Potatoes Au Gratin has layers!  Lay the potatoes, cover with some cheese... sprinkle some onions, ham, salt and pepper.  Do it again.  And again.  Usually three times works.

Isn't that amazing?  That's pretty.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Now add onions, ham, and sausage.

Now add the cheese!

And then do it all again!  Layers!  Salt and pepper it to taste!

Cover it and Cook it 30 minutes.  Take it out, uncover it, cook it 30 minutes more.  Finish by sprinkling some cheese on top and setting it under the broiler.

At this point you are wondering where the finished product photo is?  Well... we took it out, set it on the table, and ate it.  No messing around.  It's gone. No food left to take a picture of!  SORRY!

VERDICT: This was a good version.  See variations below for different ways you can go about making it.  And note the other version I have put up: Cream Au Gratin.
INGREDIENTS
4 lbs of Red Potatos (taters!)
1 lb of Lean Ham
1 lb of Kielbasa Sausage (or any other flavor you want)
1 lb of Cheese of your choice (Hand Grated!)
1 Large Red Onion
Salt
Pepper

VARIATIONS ON THE THEME

Some different things you can try include:

Garlic - Add 2-4 cloves of garlic smashed up.  Hard to argue with this experimentation.
Creamy Sauce - A basic, milk, cream, flour, sauce is used in a lot of recipes.  Give it a try.  I have a recipe for it here: Creamy Au Gratin.
Cook the Onions in Butter - Some people like to soften the onions first before putting them in.  Give it a try.
Bay Leaves / Thyme - Fresh herbs are always nice.  Give them a try as well.
Different Cheeses - By all means try different cheeses.  The standard is of course Sharp Cheddar, but we used a different mix so you can as well.  Grated Parmesan is used by many.
Different Potatoes - As mentioned above you can try different potatoes, like russets.
Green Onions - This is an idea I haven't used, but really intrigues me.  Sometimes green onions give a dish just such a magically different flavor that I get excited about it.
Bread Crumbs - Some people sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and toast them as well.
Mustard - I've seen people put a little dab of Dijon in their cream sauce.
Paprika - I like the idea of sprinkling a little paprika on top when you broil it.  Give it a deep rich red color.
Cayenne - Why not play with it and add some spices to heat things up?  Cayenne and white pepper sound nice.

The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook - Revised Edition

The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook - Revised Edition

A few years ago I was in Costco and saw this book. Not sure what impressed me to buy it... but I'm sure glad I did.  The thing that really got me about this book was that it had so many notes in it about what they did, why they did it, and how they did it.  They test not just recipes but ingredients and have handy notes about all of them.

This might be my FAVORITE cookbook.  The Fannie Farmer Cookbook is certainly basic, and this covers all the basics as well, but with better pictures, notes, and recipes.  My oldest son likes to cook on Sundays for us with his girlfriend, and they always choose a recipe from this book, and it's ALWAYS good.  

If anyone wants just one book to learn how to cook with... this is IT.  Forget all the Modernist techniques, if you want simple enlightenment for your family in the kitchen... this IS the book. Seriously.  I play around with lots of other cookbooks and ideas, but if I had to choose just one to start with and live with, this would be it.  It's all you will ever need... until you start playing around like I do with different techniques.  

And just one thing to add: I LOVE that they test things.  They try it 15 different ways, sometimes more... and it's just refreshing to know these people love food, they test how to cook it and you can feel that the technique they are offering aren't just their home version... they've rigorously tested different ways to do things.  It's refreshing.

I found my copy at Costco, but you can get yours here at Amazon:  The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

The Fannie Farmer Cookbook

The Fannie Farmer Cookbook

The Fannie Farmer Cookbook Anniversary Edition can be found at Amazon.  

I think I've said elsewhere that on my trip to Chef Enlightenment I started with Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Cooking cookbook.  But the first book I actually got was The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, though it was given to my wife so she could cook.  Alas she never learned to cook, but I've used the book myself many times since there.

This book is the basics.  You can't go wrong here.  It's been around forever, and is a great resource for basic cooking.

Being the Chef of Enlightenment you would think I wouldn't need this book but I refer to it all the time.  Just doing something basic, it's always good to check and see how it was done in this book.  Yes, it's very basic, but it also provides a foundation of ideas for all the basic home cooking and comfort food you could ever want.  I highly recommend this book for any kitchen. Its a basic ingredient for any Chef, particularly an enlightened one.

Plus, it will always remind me of my mother.

Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen

Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen

Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen is where it all started for me.  My mother gave me this book in the late 90s when I told her I was first interested in cooking.  My first recipe was Lamb Curry, starting on page 135.  I've cooked and recooked so many recipes from this book it's ridiculous.  At one point in my life I called myself a Cajun Chef, because I was so inspired and motivated by this style of cooking.  This is the one that really started it all for me and I will always have a fond place in my heart for Chef Paul.  His love of food made my life immeasurably better.  I'll always be grateful to him and recommend this book still, all these years later.

Modernist Cuisine at Home

Modernist Cuisine at Home

I didn't start my Modernist bent of cooking with Modernist Cuisine at Home.  In fact I started with the full Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking original massive 6 volume set.  To say that it was a bit overwhelming would be an understatement.  Did I love them? Absolutely, I soaked them up.  What Nathan Myhrvold and his crew have done amazes me.  We are kindred souls.  But the original 6 volume set is heavy.  HEAVY.  Not easy to digest and turn into home cooking.

Luckily Nathan is a genius, and realized this problem, so he solved it by created the Modernist Cuisine at Home cookbook.  For anyone starting Modernist techniques... THIS is the place to start.  If you have been paying attention to my blog you'll realize I take inspiration from this book a lot.  I highly recommend it!

Modernist Spaghetti Marinara Sauce

Modernist Spaghetti Marinara Sauce

Yesterday I tried a new Spaghetti Marinara Sauce, inspired by Modernist Cuisine At Home.  The technique uses pressure cooking (the pressure cooker is fast becoming one of my favorite kitchen tools) and very simple ingredients.  The idea would be to experiment with the pressure cooker and see what different tastes we could create in it.  Worth considering is to try some of my older recipes [Jan Smith's Spaghetti Sauce] using the pressure cooker and seeing if there are any differences worth noting.  When I do that, I'll let you know how it turns out.  If you have already done it, let me know.

This version uses minced carrots and onions as a base for sweetness.  I think we could easily try onions, bell peppers and celery for a cajun type feel, or just use garlic instead as the base of the sauce (with no onions or carrots or even sausage).

Ingredients
1  medium sized yellow onion roughly chopped
1  large carrot (I never bother pealing my carrots, but you might want to) chopped
6 cloves of garlic
1 16 oz package of ground pork or Jimmy Dean Sausage.
Olive Oil
2 14.5 oz cans of Tomato Sauce, Crushed Tomatoes, or Petite Diced Tomatoes.
Big handful of fresh mushrooms sliced
Fresh Basil
1/2 Cup of Heavy Cream
Salt

Instructions

1.  We start by chopping the onion and carrot up and putting them with the garlic into a food blender (Cuisinart) till it is all minced.

2.  Cook the Sausage in the pressure cooker until it is done.  Remove it to a paper towel covered plate to soak up the oil.

3.  Add olive oil to the pan.
4.  Add the minced carrots, onions and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes or so.
5.  Add the two cans of tomatoes and drained sausage and sliced mushrooms.

5.  Pressure Cook at 1 bar for about 1 hour or so. I actually cooked it for about 2 hours, so I'm not sure if that did anything good or bad.  Anyone have any research on over cooking things in a pressure cooker?
6.  Depressurize your pressure cooker.
7.  Add a big handful of barely chopped (or torn) fresh basil leaves.
8.  Add 1/2 a cup of heavy cream.
9.  Add Salt and Olive Oil to taste.

Ours came out magically.  It was a very different taste than what we are used to, but the whole family loved it.  We put it over pasta and mashed potatoes (of all things).  It was even better the next day.

Naan - Stonefire

I'm a fan of Indian food, and here in Utah one of my favorite places to eat is the Bombay House.  Whatever I have there, I always order Naan to go with it.  As an aspiring Indian Food Chef at home, I've always wanted to make homemade Naan.  I found a recipe that somewhat replicates the effect of the heat of a clay oven, and I'll share that recipe with you some day soon.  The problem is the Clay Oven used in Indian Restaurants cooks food at such a high temperature in such a specific way that it is difficult to fully replicate at home.  I've managed it... although it is a lot of work.

But this is not a recipe post, this is a review post.  I recently discovered Tandoor Baked mini Naan from Stonefire.  Stonefire is a company that focuses on authentic bakery items.  Check out their website for information, product, and recipes.

The product above is NOT what I am reviewing. In fact, I can't find the product I have on their website. I got the product at Costco, so perhaps it's a specific exclusive item only sold at Costco.  I'm not sure.  But what I am sure of is this: It is a great product.

Sure... it's not like fresh Naan that comes out of the Clay Tandoor Oven at the Bombay House.  Or even the version I make at home (recipe coming, as I promised!).  But they are... easy to cook (pop in the toaster) and tasty!  For simplicity, if you are cooking up some Indian food, and you just want to keep the bread part simple... I can't think of an easier way than this.

If you've heard other companies that do this, and have compared, let me know, we'll do some research on the topic.  But right now, this is so darn simple I'm sticking with Stonefire.  I just pop it into the toaster, and when it comes out I ladle homemade Tikka Masala (recipe coming at well) on top and it is wonderful.