Potatoes au gratin (recipe).

 Potatoes are my favorite comfort food. I love them in any form: baked, fried, mashed, roasted, sliced, boiled, etc. There aren't many foods that work so well for every meal, and even snacks. I would be happy to eat potatoes every time I sit down to dine. Breakfast? Hashbrowns. Lunch? Potato salad. Snack time? Potato chips, obviously. Dinner? Well, the choices are endless, but I'm going with potatoes au gratin this time. Dessert? Okay, you might have to get creative to have regular potatoes for dessert, but sweet potatoes make a tasty pie.

This potatoes au gratin recipe is delicious, and pretty easy to put together. The most important part is making sure you give the potatoes enough time to fully cook and get nice and soft. If you need it to cook a little quicker, cut the potatoes up smaller. No one wants a crunchy half raw potato in their au gratin. I based this recipe off of The Pioneer Woman's Perfect Potatoes au Gratin, and I've made it a few times now making my own adjustments.

This dish makes a lot (about 10 servings), and it's great for feeding a crowd. Of course, you can halve the recipe if you don't want as much, but it also makes great leftovers, so I recommend making a full batch. Last time I made this, I actually made a double batch. One pan I cooked up immediately for my friend's Easter dinner dish-to-pass, and the other pan went into the fridge for a few days to be baked later in the week when family was here visiting. I love that this can be prepared ahead of time, and popped into the oven when needed.



Potatoes au Gratin
makes about 10 servings

Ingredients
2.5 pounds russet potatoes
4 cloves garlic
3 green onion stalks
1/2 tbs butter
2 cups (1 pint) half and half
2 tbs flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1.5 cups (5 oz) grated cheddar cheese

Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees f.

2) Cut the potatoes into small cubes and set aside. Mince the garlic, and slice the green onions. Use the butter to grease the baking dish.

3) Whisk together the garlic, half of the green onions, half and half, flour, salt, and pepper.

4) Put half of the potatoes into the baking dish. Stir the half and half mixture, then pour half of this over the potatoes (you need to stir before pouring because the garlic sinks to the bottom). Be sure to spread out any clumps of garlic or green onion evenly.

5) Add the rest of the potatoes to the dish, stir the remaining half and half mix, and pour it over the potatoes. Cover with tin foil.

6) Bake for 30 - 40 minutes while covered with foil (potatoes should be mostly tender at this point). Remove foil and bake for 20 minutes (until potatoes are golden brown and bubbling). Sprinkle the cheese over the top and bake about 5 minutes more, until cheese is melted and just staring to brown.

7) Sprinkle the remaining green onions over the top when the dish comes out of the oven. Let the potatoes sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

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