GIVE ME YOUR SCALLOPED POTATO SECRETS!

[thoreau]

I must have them. I told Dave I was making scalloped potatoes for dinner - and his reply was "well - here's where I stand scalloped potatoes. They are either award winning fabulous or they taste like velveeta vomit. Good luck!"

Velveeta vomit. (silent pause) well.

How do I make award-winning fabulous scalloped potatoes for the mathematician I adore so much?

HELP ME INTERWEBS!

Comments

[badgerpdx.livejournal.com]

My secret ingredient is Paprika and a little cayenne pepper.

(I don't use it in my scalloped potatoes, but I kinda like velveeta_.

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

velveeta is the evil. it is "cheese food" - it is wrong-ness³...

[geometrician.livejournal.com]

The first thing I would consider is using a mixture of two or three high quality cheeses, taking his taste into consideration. Gruyere, in my opinion, makes lovely sauces, as does a nice Havarti. Crumbled bleu or feta on top would be lovely, but not to everyone's liking. A little mustard in the sauce does wonders.

Escalloped potatoes should be made in a low baking dish, rather than deep, to allow for as much crusty top as possible and to help the flavors merge throughout.

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

all excellent ideas! thank you!

[geometrician.livejournal.com]

OH! One more thing I forgot: the kind of potato is wickedly important. Russets and other mealy potatoes are bad. Yukons are a good choice.

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

I have organic yukons from this week's fresh box. :) YAY!

[whiskerfish.livejournal.com]

Betty Crocker?

[whiskerfish.livejournal.com]

http://www.pauladeenmagazine.com/recipe_results.php?id=1033

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

(giggle) I so do not do prepared boxed versions of anything. but thanks :) This sentence from Betty Crocker dot com:

"These premium potatoes have all the fixings to make a great potato dish, including a squeezable cheese pouch and a toasted bread crumb topping."

This sentence frightens me a great deal.

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

that is a good variant - all the components seem to be yukon gold potatoes, cream and high quality cheese. :) Emeril suggests swiss cheese vs. italian blend. I'll see what cheeses suit my fancy when i hit the store on the way to Dave's tonight...

[bluebear2.livejournal.com]

Well, I'll tell you my experience with them. I never liked them all my life but then I grew those french yellow-flesh kind and made scalloped potatoes with them and it was amazing. The pastiness of the flesh and the strong flavour just makes it perfect. I finally understood what it was all about then.

So, try to find some of those kind f potatoes. They have different names but they're usually long and skinny, have yellowish flesh.

[brunorepublic.livejournal.com]

My mother used to make delightful scalloped potatoes (sadly, she has not made the dish in years). When asked what the trick was, she said "oh, I just throw about half a pound of butter in it".

Then again, my mother loved Velveeta, at least until they changed the formula (or so she claims) sometime in the '70s. She never bought it again.

[eireangus.livejournal.com]

I TOTALLY love them as well and appreciate these comments.

(valley girl accent) WHEY! no WHEY?! WHEY!

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

MILK, WATER, MILKFAT, WHEY, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, ALGINATE, SODIUM CITRATE, APOCAROTENAL (COLOR), ANNATTO (COLOR), ENZYMES, CHEESE CULTURE.

[squalidbear.livejournal.com]

Bok choy is the evil. Paprika and cayenne pepper are always good!

Scalloped potatoes don't depend on cheese for richness, they depend on cream. And they need leeks. Here is a recipe from the Red Grill a place in San Francisco that had scalloped potatoes that were like crack.
It's for half a hotel pan so you'll have to scale it down.

Yukon golds peeled and sliced thin 10lbs
Leeks 2lbs

Butter 1/2 lb
Cream 2 gallons
Ground parmesan 3 cups
Ground gruyere 3 cups
Bread crumbs 6 cups

Ground parmesan 1 cup
Parsley chopped 1/2 cup

Slice potatoes and mandolin with leeks, layer alternately in pan, seasoning each layer with salt & pepper and finish with potatoes on the top layer.

In a saucepan, bring cream to boil and stir in cheeses and pour over layered potatoes and leeks until almost covered. Cover with foil.

Bake at 350ºF for 1 hour or until soft (check after 45 mins).
Remove aluminum foil, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and parsley and brown lightly.

I noticed the recipe doesn't specify what to do with the butter - I would put dabs of butter on each layer of potatoes.

Cheers!

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

I'm getting the sense of a good recipe from all the comments. I have organic yukon golds in my fresh box stuff - and I'll stop by the store and pick up some Gueyere. Yay! I'll assuredly post a report and a photo or two. I'm serving it with the delicious bok choy chinese cabbage and baked chicken.

[hwynym.livejournal.com]

Well - I am admittedly, the last person to be asking for advice on cooking. However, in this situation, here's what I would do:

1) Prepare the scalloped potatoes to the best of my ability.

2) If the the words "velveeta vomit" are forthcoming from any partaker of said scalloped potatoes, they will be invited to smell them up close, adore or not...

But that's just how *I* deal with such situations...

It may also explain a lot about why I'm single...

Re: (valley girl accent) WHEY! no WHEY?! WHEY!

[brunorepublic.livejournal.com]

Many years ago, a magazine ran a humourous article on what you'd find in the stereotypical WASP refrigerator. It was totally the same stuff that my mother kept, except we had no Velveeta. When mentioned to her, she said "Oh, I used to enjoy it, but they changed the formula several years ago and I don't like the way it is now".

Much of what I eat is completely inedible to my mother. She's one of those people who can drink coffee that's half a degree shy of boiling, but put two specks of black pepper in any dish and she won't be able to handle the spice.

True story: tired of the instant coffee that my mother favoured, my sister bought a proper coffee machine and fresh ground coffee. Since the resulting coffee was merely hot and not scalding, my mother would pour the coffee from the machine into a pot, put it on the stove, and boil it.

Still, mom knew how to make awesome scalloped potatoes... nice and crispy on top, rich and delightfully carbolicious underneath.

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

LOL :) but you are so cute!

[excessor.livejournal.com]

You are so doing this wrong.

< pick up phone >
“Hello, Four Seasons? Two please for dinner at 7:30.”

Stay with me, Grasshopper. I don't normally give away this wisdom for free.

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

Dear Customer Service: you are missing the point - I love being Martha Stewart for my husband. Is there a Four Seasons in Palo Alto? Have another cocktail sweety. - love, The Muffin

[excessor.livejournal.com]

No darling, I have not missed the point at all. When you make something and it does not turn out, the proper recourse is a reservation at a nice restaurant. After four or five times, he'll figure out that characterizing your food as any kind of vomit leads to expensive dinners. Expensive dinners lead to good sex.

And yes, there's a Four Seasons at University Ave and 101.

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

Brilliant!

you are one twisted sister.

where do I send payment for this clarification?

Hmmmmmm

[jearbear65oh.livejournal.com]

I ALWAYS follow my mom's favorite rule.
There are always two choices for dinner...
Take it or leave it.
If you do not like it, don't eat it.
(OR you may cook next if you wish)
:-)

[badgerpdx.livejournal.com]

Cheap, creamy melty goodness. Come to the dark side, young muffin...come....