Scalloped Potatoes
The Covered Dish
By Debbie Dance Uhrig
This week we celebrated another birthday at our home. Yes, my husband, Ervin had a wonderful Sunday enjoying his favorite things. Like myself, he has so many favorite things I’ll end up cooking more dishes, the rest of this week.
I can’t help but comment on the beautiful weather we have been experiencing here in the Ozarks. The fall days have been outstanding and fortunately we haven’t seen any frosts in our area. Each day we try to get outside and enjoy the phenomenal weather a little bit more.
Tonight one of Ervin’s side dishes was scalloped potatoes. I made our 9 x 13, 5# batch with russet potatoes. You will note the recipe calls for only 2 1/2 lbs. so I basically made a double. The choice of potato can definitely change the outcome of many potato dishes. Let’s just run through the starch factors quickly. For a creamy outcome reach for a russet, because they contain the most starch content. Golds are the middle potato as we look at russets, golds and red potatoes. The red potato has the least amount of starch. Therefore the red potato is also the slowest potato to turn brown, due to the lower starch content.
Technically the best mashed potatoes are made with russets, but I’ve made mashed potatoes with golds many times and…left the skins on too.
Let me share an experience with you real quickly that happened to me about a year ago. Often when I make a potato dish for 35 guests I will start in advance by peeling, quartering/slicing and covering the potato with water. When I’m ready to make mashed or scalloped potatoes I then drain and prepare, etc. While I was making this exact scenario I had potatoes peeled and soaking early in the day and those that I prepped just before cooking. The end result was a big difference. By soaking potatoes early morning I had pulled the starch out of the potato. Without the starch the potatoes don’t cream well! The flavor was also different. Keep this in mind, especially when you’re doing more than one batch of any potato dish.
Another forgotten tip is the use of potato water as a thickening agent. Many seasoned cooks will use potato water in gravies and sauces to help thicken.
The red potatoes make wonderful potato salads. Because they are the least starchy they soak up less dressing. They also render a firmer potato salad.
As we begin to get a glimpse of November it’s time to begin thinking about holiday dinners. This year will be different, that’s for sure. I’m pretty sure it will be the first Thanksgiving where my parents may not come. But, even with the fears of Covid we need to think about those that reside within our households. Make Thanksgiving really unique this year with a whole new menu! I.E. this season I’m doing a smoked turkey, and I’m buying it already smoked. Of course, I can smoke a turkey myself, but it’s time for something different. I can already taste the leftover smoked turkey, on top of salads and inside interesting sandwiches. Not to mention steamed with all the other leftovers.
Because of my job situation, I’m thinking about not putting up our tree up until Thanksgiving weekend. In years past it was always up before, but not lit before Thanksgiving. Make out invitations for the holiday and send by text or email. Tell each person attending what they can bring to the gathering. Create what I call ‘blessing buckets’. Gather a container of some sort and fill it with wintry items that are soul warming. Things like coffee, tea, cocoa, jam/jellies, candy, fruits, nuts and so much more. Decorate simplistically and as the family departs present the blessing buckets. Sometimes it can even be a loaf of homemade bread.
Gift ideas are coming to mind too. Did you know you can find absolutely wonderful gifts at thrift stores? As a cook I adore beautiful dishes to display my creations. Lately I have found nice items that are in style and in mint condition. Often the cook is downsizing or just gets tired of something and ‘poof’ you have a new treasure!
Enjoy preparing my old-fashioned scalloped potatoes, they will warm your soul and leave you with lots of space to create. Crumbled toppings, unique cheeses there’s plenty of room to ‘play’.
Enjoy each and every moment this week. Keep a thankful heart and your blessings will abound. Simply yours, The Covered Dish.
Scalloped Potatoes, (old-fashioned style)
2 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes,
Washed & sliced as thin as possible.
3-4 tablespoons cold butter
Black Kettle Seasoning spice
3 tablespoons of flour, used one tablespoon at a time
4 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided equally 3 ways
1 cup half n’ half cream or heavy cream (yummy)
2 1/2 quart baking dish
Vegetable spray
Wash, trim, peel (if desired) and slice potatoes and divide into 3 equal groups.
Spray baking dish with vegetable spray. Layer first group of potatoes into baking dish. Sprinkle top of potatoes with Black Kettle (multi-use seasoning spice), one tablespoon of flour, 1 tablespoon of butter cut into small pieces and one third of the cheese. Start second layer repeating all the same steps. Lastly do the third layer. Keep dish as even across top as possible. Slowly pour the cup of half n’ half across the top of the entire mixture. Put lid on top and bake in a 375 degree oven for approximately 45-50 minutes. Remove lid and continue baking until potatoes are tender when stuck with a small parey knife. (15-20 more minutes) When you lift the lid you will probably see liquid bubbling around the outer edges, this is good. In the next 15 minutes or so things will thicken up and the extra liquid should dissipate as the recipe thickens.
Often I will cut up ham or crumbled bacon into the recipe amongst the three layers. Changing out the cheese to something you enjoy is certainly a good thing. Many will even choose to use a full 8 ounce bag of cheese. Chopped green onions would be good to use as a garnish. Gruyere or Muenster cheese would add variety.
I watched my mother, Betty, make scalloped potatoes repetitively as a young girl. I always asked mom for a recipe and she said she basically didn’t have one. In 2014-15 I finally set down and played with the layering and cream amounts until I came out with a good dish. What I remember most would be the fact that mom never knew how much milk or cream to use, she just sorta’ poured! Sometimes she’d present her dish and go: ‘Oh darn, I put a little too much milk in today.’ I don’t always make scalloped potatoes in this fashion. Sometimes I make a cream sauce on top of the stove and pour it over the layers. In the old days scalloped potatoes meant the dish had buttered bread crumbs on the top. Today in North America it means the dish has a dairy sauce over the potatoes.
October 19, 2020
