Sunday, December 16, 2007

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

They're calling for up to 50cm of snow today (that's 20 inches for our friends south of the border). At first, I panicked, thinking about the potential for sitting in traffic for hours on the Monday morning commute to work. Once the snow started falling this morning, though, it dawned on me that a Sunday snow day could mean the ultimate "lounge around in your pj's and do nothing" day. And by 'do nothing', of course I mean cook up a storm. Stay tuned for the details.

Lately, I've had the hankering for a stick-to-your-stomach, feel-good dish. Yesterday, Dina kindly obliged by putting together the ultimate side dish: scalloped potatoes.

All it took was 4 medium-sized potatoes, an onion, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 cup of shredded gouda cheese, 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup of heavy cream, and s&p.

I peeled & thinly sliced the (red-skinned) potatoes and onion, minced the garlic, shredded the cheese and it was time to assemble. Dina buttered the bottom of the casserole dish and began layering the potatoes so that each slice overlapped the other halfway, seasoning with salt & pepper all over. The onion slices were tossed among the potatoes, while a generous sprinkling of both cheeses blanketed each layer. We continued until we reached the top of the dish, finishing with some more cheese on top. We then poured the cream (with the minced garlic mixed in) all over the assembled dish.

Covered with aluminum foil we baked it at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, then removed the foil and increased the temperature to 400 to brown the top for another 10 minutes. The result: a creamy, cheesy and crispy potato-onion combination that is indescribably delicious.

Although I would normally recommend waiting for the dish to cool slightly before digging in, the growling in my tummy wanted nothing to do with my tongue's fear of getting scorched. This isn't a dish that Dina would allow me to have very often, but I think that actually makes helping myself to this soul food even more enjoyable.

Did I mention what a lucky man I am?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I waited for a new post a whole week...and...it was worth it, this dish looks and sounds delicious.

Annie Ruok said...

mmmm....used to love eating these! One of many things I can't have anymore, due to my sensitive tummy, so I had to give 'em up...but, I think if I had yours in front of me, I'd have to at least have a little taste, cuz they look so delicious!