Potatoes au Gratin

Potatoes au gratin is one of those dishes that makes me feel sad for people who either can't or won't eat dairy because they're missing out on something so simple, so delicious, and so comforting. This is the kind of food that makes me think I must've been a French peasant in a past life. A very fat, French peasant...

You may have noticed (or not) that it's been radio silence over here for a while. There's no dramatic reason for it - just life, two small and very demanding children, the need to make ends meet and the ever-present exhaustion of parenting. I finally understand why my mom was always saying that there aren't enough hours in the day...

So meals have been kind of last-minute, rushed affairs that left no time for taking pretty pictures. But enough whining and excuses! I just need to MAKE the time for this 'cause I love it and, hopefully, you do, too.

I went through my massive, ever-growing recipe file this weekend in an attempt to come up with something that looked yummy enough to motivate me to get back on the blogging horse. I found many things but the one page I kept coming back to was this simple recipe for potato gratin -- I really wanted to eat it for dinner. The temperature was dropping rapidly outside, I was tired from many hours of raking leaves while trying to keep up enough small talk to convince my four-year-old that I was really paying attention to him, and it was going to be dark in about half an hour (you know, at 4:30. Sigh.)

One quick shopping trip later, I had four large Russets and a carton of heavy cream and was ready to rumble. Another quick trip out to the nearly dark hoop house yielded a handful of thyme, oregano and parsley (though I completely forgot to sprinkle the oregano and parsley over top of this before serving, memory loss being yet another side effect of parenting)

I busted out the big mandoline for this job as I did not feel like wielding my smaller, handheld one for quite so long (even though it is by far my favorite.)

I rubbed my baking dish with garlic, greased it and set it aside. Then I bathed the sliced potatoes in salted heavy cream mixed with some ground white pepper.

Next came the layering, overlapping slightly and turning each new layer perpendicular to the last.

I topped it with a positive blizzard of freshly grated Parmesan and into the oven it went for an hour or so. It emerged smelling amazing and looking even better with that beautiful browned, crispy crust that is what makes a gratin a gratin. The baking dish had a pleasing weight in my hands. I knew we would be well-fed.

I had to cut myself off after three helpings. Hope you enjoy it, too. By the way, Happy almost Thanksgiving! If you're still looking for recipe ideas, check out my Thanksgiving recipe round up here.

Potatoes Au Gratin
Serves 6

Ingredients

* 4 large Russet potatoes, peeled
* 1 1/2 cups organic heavy cream (buy pasture-raised if you can - Organic Valley is a good bet if you don't have a local source)
* 1/4-1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 tsp sea salt
* 1/4 tsp freshly ground white pepper (if you have it)
* 1 clove of garlic, peeled and cut in half
* Butter to grease the gratin dish
* Several branches of fresh thyme, washed

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Using a mandoline (or very sharp knife), slice the potatoes thinly. Stir the salt and white pepper into the heavy cream and then submerge the potato slices and turn to ensure that they're all coated well.

3. Lay the sliced potatoes in a single layer, overlapping the slices slightly. Turn the next row so that the slices lie perpendicular to the previous row. Continue until you've used them all up. Top with the grated Parmesan and bake for roughly one hour, until the top is browned and crisped. Remove and let cool slightly before serving.

You might also like:

• Swiss Chard & Barley Gratin
• Turnip Gratin
• Quinoa & Spinach Gratin

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Grilled Chicken So Easy, It Feels Like Cheating

I have a one-year-old, a four-year-old, a husband, a job, a garden, a yard, and a house that we're always semi-renovating, among other things. In short, I have no time. Yet we still need to eat, quite regularly, in fact. And I want what we eat to be both delicious and good for us. So I am a BIG fan of this simple chicken - it's so easy and so good. And the grilling makes for easier clean up, too.

I like to use boneless, skinless thighs (please ignore the fact that the chicken pieces in the photos are not thighs!) Thighs are juicier than breasts, cook more quickly and are the perfect size, no cutting required. They're also a lot cheaper than breasts.

As always, try to find meat from a farmer near you that uses humane and organic practices. Just a note that many small farmers can't afford to get organic certification even though they do farm using organic methods. So not having certification is not necessarily a reason to rule a good local source out. The beauty of buying locally is that you can go and visit to see for yourself and/or ask around to get a better sense of what a farm is like. Or, if you live around here, you can also just go to Fleishers Meats in Kingston!

It does not take much time to prepare this chicken but you do need to start in the morning by throwing together a quick marinade. I like to use olive oil, fresh rosemary, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper and a little bit of salad dressing which I think of as "flavor in a bottle" (I can practically hear the little gasps of shock and horror from the purists!)

Although I am now beyond redemption in the eyes of true foodies, I will note for the rest of you that I do use a good quality, organic dressing with only unobjectionable ingredients that comes in a glass bottle to limit our BPA exposure. And, while I'm confessing all my shameful secrets, I should add that I sometimes use bottled organic lemon juice if I don't have any fresh lemons in the house.

It only takes a few minutes to throw all of this stuff together, promise. Then let the chicken soak up those good flavors all day in the fridge.

When dinner time rolls around, throw the chicken onto a pre-heated grill and cook them over medium heat for about ten minutes, turning them once.

I really hate to throw away a good marinade - seems like such a waste! So sometimes, I dump it into a frying pan and let it cook down for a few minutes (sometimes I add a little white wine) until I have a nice pan sauce to ladle over the grilled chicken and the quinoa. But that is totally optional, of course.

I like to serve this with quinoa cooked in vegetable broth (so much tastier that way) and either baked sweet potatoes or a salad but it goes well with lots of things if those ideas don't appeal to you.

-- print recipe --Simple Grilled Chicken
Serves 4

Ingredients

* 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs from a farm near you (if you have a lot of big meat eaters to feed, you may want to increase to 1 1/2 lbs)

For the marinade:
* 3 Tbps olive oil
* Juice of two lemons (orange, grapefruit, or tangerine would work well, too)
* 1/4 cup Italian or Caesar salad dressing (use a good one!)
* 1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary, rinsed, dried, stems removed and needles chopped
* 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
* 1/2 tsp sea salt
* 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Prepare the marinade by whisking all the ingredients together.

2. Place the chicken thighs in the marinade, turning to coat all sides. I usually stick the meat with a fork a bunch of times to let more flavor soak in. Cover and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to a day.

3. Light the grill and let it heat up to high then clean with a wire brush. Lower the heat to medium and place the chicken thighs on the grate. Cover and cook for 5 minutes then turn and cook for 5 more minutes or until tested done. Remove from the meat from the grill and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.

You might also like:

• Chicken Milanese On a Bed of Arugula & Tomatoes
• Grilled Pork Chops With Balsamic-Glazed Peaches
• Spiced Lamb Kabobs With Tomato Jam

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An Arugula Salad To Remember...

I came up with this delectable salad the other night while frantically trying to pull some sort of dinner together after discovering that we were out of hotdogs (ya see, I told you it's not all gorgeous meals and slow-cooked food around here...)

After sulking about the lack of hotdogs for a while, inspiration struck -- zucchini fritters! I got a batch of them sizzling in the cast iron skillet and turned back to the fridge where a nice big bunch of fresh arugula from our CSA caught my eye.

I had to keep it simple since the kids were hungry and it was almost time for the baby's bath but I did take a few minutes to candy some pecans in butter, maple syrup, salt and garam masala. These candied pecans are the bomb! MWWAAHHH - I kiss my fingers at you in an Italian-style expression of appreciation for their deliciousness.

Then I chopped some dried cherries, squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, salt and black pepper over it all and tossed it to ensure that the crunchy, spicy, sweet bites would be nicely mixed in with the lemony, peppery greens.

A good meal was had by all. And I have since bought a big package of organic hot dogs, too, just in case...

Lemony Arugula Salad with Curried Candied Pecans & Dried Cherries
Serves 4

Ingredients

* Large bunch of arugula, washed and dried
* 1/2-3/4 cup candied garam masala pecans
* 1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped
* Juice of 1/2 lemon (you can add more if the lemon is not super juicy)
* A glug of olive oil
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Make the candied pecans - the simple directions are here.

2. While they're cooling, wash and dry the arugula then toss it with the olive, oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste (adjust if you think it needs more lemon, oil, salt, etc.) Then throw in the cherries and the cooled pecans, toss again and serve!

You might also like:

• Roasted Delicata Squash & Tortellini Salad With Cranberries, Greens & Pepitas
• Brussels Sprouts & Kale Salad With Toasted Almonds & Parmesan
• Frisee, Apple & Celeriac Salad With Shallot-Citrus Dressing & Goat Cheese

Want even more recipes, photos, giveaways, and food-related inspiration? "Like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter or Pinterest.