Romantic Christmas Dinner 2009 – Side Dish One

December 27, 2009 at 8:08 AM | Posted in Sometimes I cook. | 1 Comment
Tags: Christmas, potatoes, recipe

For the backstory on our Romantic Christmas tradition, see this post.

These potatoes are Bill’s absolute favorite side dish. He describes them as “almost too salty” and then makes a smacking noise with his mouth as he imagines the taste. The original recipe calls for fresh thyme but I made them with dried thyme instead the first time I gave the recipe a whirl and now he won’t let me do it any other way lest they not taste the same. I’m sure they are even better with fresh thyme…but whatever.

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Thyme Potatoes

Adapted from original recipe, Taste Cafe Potato Gratin, found in Indianapolis dine

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper
2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
5 med-lg baking potatoes*

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Bring cream, salt, pepper, and thyme to a simmer in a small saucepan.

3. Peel potatoes and slice thinly. I used the medium setting on my mandoline this time and it worked out great.

4. Layer enough potatoes to cover the bottom of a 1.5-qt. casserole dish; sometimes I use a round dish but this time I used dish that was 6″ x 8″. Cover the layer with some of the cream mixture. Repeat layering until you use all of the potatoes or run out of cream mixture (although I always run out of room in the dish before either of those happens).

5. Bake in the oven for about one hour, until the top is golden brown.

Serves 6-8.

SPACE

* I used ~3 lbs. organic Russets this time. Idahos work well, too. I think the key is to use a variety that is sort of dry since the cream is plentiful.