1 1/2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 3/4 Pounds Russet Potatoes
– (Peel/Cut In 1/8"
Slices)
1/3 Cup Plus + 3 Tbs
Whipping Cream
1/3 Cup Canned Chicken Broth
Salt/pepper to taste
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375 deg. 2) Rub 1/2
TBS butter over 9-inch round glass pie plate. Arrange 1/3 of potatoes in
prepared dish. Season w/ salt and pepper. Repeat layering and seasoning
with remaining potatoes in 2 batches. 3) Whisk 1/3 cup cream and broth in
a small bowl. Pour over potatoes. Dot top with 1 TBS butter. Bake until
golden, about 55 minutes. 4) Drizzle 3 TBS cream over potatoes. Bake until
top is golden and potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes more. Transfer to
a rack and cool 5 minutes. That’s it!
I followed the first 3 steps, but after 30 minutes, I could smell the edges of the tops of the potatoes burning (I used Yukon Golds, BTW). I panicked and poured in some milk–skim, all I had. About 1/2 a cup, to get enough liquid to cover. Baked it for another 40 minutes or so and the taters were done, but the sauce was too soupy.
So, where did I go wrong? Should I have made enough of the original liquid to completely cover the taters?
The recipe doesn’t specify to cover the dish while it’s baking, but that’s what I’d try. Return it to the oven uncovered for the final 15 minutes. If you don’t have a lid for the dish you’re using, try foil.
Yes, you need the sauce to moderate the heat in the dish. Ensure that you have enough sauce to completely cover the potatoes. Otherwise they will never cook properly. You need the fluid in there to keep the heat even and moist around the potatoes.
As far as the recipe goes, I personally would make a roux with equal parts butter and flour, toast it for a bit on the stovetop, then whisk in some milk and bring it up until it’s thick and smooth. (I make a 9x13 pan of potatoes, using a stick of butter+equal amounts flour, and about 3 pints of milk, give or take, and flavor with grated nutmeg). But that’s just my take.
I make scalloped potatoes the way that my mother did, so, in other words, no actual recipe. I slice the potatoes, and layer them. Put a layer down that covers the bottom of the dish. On top of the potatoes, sprinkle flour, add random small bits of butter, some sliced onions and salt and pepper. Repeat until you get to the top of the dish. Pour in 2 per cent milk to cover the top of the potatoes. Bake in oven at first in a covered dish for about 45 minutes to an hour. Remove the cover and allow to bake until the top is nicely browned.
I like to do several thin layers of potatoes. rather than “thirds” in part because that’s the way my mother taught me, but also because that way you don’t end up with big layer chunks of potatoes.
Seriously, I came from a Steakhouse that used a derivation of your recipe for AuGratin Potatoes.
To the cream, butter, and stock emulsion-- voulute (touch of flour and egg yolk), we added about a pound of shredded shrap cheddar. The potatoes were baked leftovers, peeled, cubed, cold and incorporated with the rich sauce, they were dished into gratin dishes, and kept in the fridge til Salamander time. We topped them with Shrap Shredded Cheddar and Smoked Provolone…takes a few minutes in the oven and finished under the broiler. Should have made them lukewarm to order in thinking Back. Hard to bring crockery from cold to hot.
Otherwise, I’d go with the roux, and a cream sauce added in, along with covering during all but the last 15 minutes of cooking (or however long it takes your oven to brown once it’s “nearly done”).
I can’t ditch my husband–he is a sweetheart. However, he is a sweetheart who hates cheese with the burning power of the sun. He once said he would rather eat bugs than cheese. He won’t even eat cheesecake. :eek:
