Broken sauce

[Eamon Burke]

I usually par blanch my potatoes before I assemble the gratin. This way you don't have to bake it nearly as long. 350 for about 45 mins. Take the top off crank it up to 425 and brulee the top for 5 mins or until golden brown.

:goodpost:

 

[bieniek]

Shite on those who cannot gratinate their gratin without cheese.

Where is the gas-ovens-LeGavroche-style classique?

What I mean? Butter + potato = perfect golden brown

 

[lowercasebill]

my son made a recipe from cooks illustrated for christmas dinner ,, it was great.. suateed onion nutmeg and thyme 1/8 in thick tater slices. simmered the taters on the stove for 20 mins in a mixture of milk and heavy cream, no flour.. then into the cassarole dish , topped with grated cheddar and into a 350 degree oven. no curdle, approrpriatly thick and great cheesey top.

 

[WildBoar]

The recipe we used earlier in the month called for infusing the cream with garlic before adding it to the potatoes. Plus rubbing the gratin pan w/ garlic and butter before starting to layer the potatoes. Only cheese was parmesan on top, plus breadcrumbs. It was good!

 

[MadMel]

Shite on those who cannot gratinate their gratin without cheese.

Where is the gas-ovens-LeGavroche-style classique?

What I mean? Butter + potato = perfect golden brown

Well said!! I took my recipe from Robuchon.. No cheese, breadcrumbs etc...

 

[cnochef]

IMHO, potato gratin is best when kept simple!

I use Yukon Gold potatoes sliced thin on the mandolin, a 50/50 blend of 35% cream and buttermilk (just enough to cover the gratin), salt and pepper. Bake covered for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Then uncover and top with some grated parmesan to help it brown, return to oven for 15 minutes. Then remove it and let rest for at least 20 minutes for the remainder of the cream/buttermilk mix to absorb into the potatoes.

I have found that if you add too much cheese (especially cheddar) in between layers, you get an oily mess.

If you add watery ingredients like ham, kale and onions, this can interfere with the sauce thickening too (caramelized onions are OK though).

Bechamel and butter are not necessary at all.

 

[Lucretia]

I won't turn up my nose at any of them--with cheese or without. They even taste good with broken sauce.

A good one with cheese uses white potatoes, sweet potatoes, and gruyere. Make like you would with layers of potato, cheese, cream, etc, and put a layer or 2 of sweet potatoes in the middle. It looks good, and the little bit of sweetness is nice.

 

[SpikeC]

I checked the gratin recipes in "La Cuisine" by Oliver. The potatoes are minced or grated, and layered with grated swiss cheese then topped with chicken fat and cooked in white poultry stock in the oven.
Or you can layer the grated potatoes with thyme and cook in a mixture of milk, Creme Fraiche and eggs.
I just may try them!
(where do you get creme fraiche?)

 

[ajhuff]

1) make it, I never have but it looks to be pretty simple.

2) I've seen creme fraiche sold at Whole Foods.

-AJ

 

[Jim]

(where do you get creme fraiche?)I have substituted Sour cream a few times for it.

 

[bieniek]

You may find dauphinoise little boring as a main event of the dinner...

 

[MadMel]

I usually get my creme fraiche at a supermarket..

 

[Lucretia]

Never made it, but creme fraiche looks pretty easy to do:

Mix 2 Tbsp buttermilk in a cup of whipping cream. Put in a covered glass jar and let sit at room temperature 8-24 hours. Stir and refrigerate for up to 10 days.

 

[SpikeC]

I'll bet that New Seasons carries it. I would make some butt I'm not buying a bottle of buttermilk for 1 Tbs!
Thanks for the sour cream suggestion, that might work well.
My New Years resolution is to cook more recipes from La Cuisine.

 

[Andrew H]

I'll bet that New Seasons carries it. I would make some butt I'm not buying a bottle of buttermilk for 1 Tbs!
Thanks for the sour cream suggestion, that might work well.
My New Years resolution is to cook more recipes from La Cuisine.

You're not going to be able to buy a tablespoon of creme fraiche, either.

 

[SpikeC]

The recipe calls for a quarter cup. You only need a small amount of buttermilk to make a cup of Creme fraiche.

 

[G-rat]

I don't know what your food budget is generally like but buttermilk isn't normally more expensive than a couple of dollars or usually less. You should be able to get a small amount too. I would buy it, make some creme fraiche and then make some biscuits...

 

[SpikeC]

Good point!