Parmesan Potatoes

If you like potatoes, and easy recipes to prepare those potatoes, and a company-worthy dish with little work at all, then you have come to the right place. We first made this recipe back in 2002 when friends were visiting from out-of-town. Mr. O-P had lost a bet to a friend back East who predicted a Patriot win over the Rams in the Super Bowl. The loser had to fix the winner a sumptuous, multi-course meal, but the winner had to fly to the loser's house in order to claim it. Can you tell that men were involved in setting up this rather ridiculous wager? All I can say is that I'm really glad we didn't win.

One of the aspects of the bet was that the loser would have no help from his well-organized spouse. That turned out to be a big mistake because the dinner took him all day to prepare and we were nodding off into our dessert around midnight when the endurance test meal was, thankfully, over.

These potatoes were a part of that meal. What made me love them forever is that my rather disorganized husband, who sampled way too much wine during this cooking fiasco marathon, left them in the oven for a half hour longer than they were supposed to bake and they were still marvelous.

Here is the recipe right from the book (One of my oft-mentioned favorites, St. Louis Days, St. Louis Nights, mentioned here and here and here.) complete with my annotations. I used Melissa’s Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes that I peeled and halved. Perfect!

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Scallops with Lemon Butter

Those of you who love scallops in the same way that I do already know how easy they are to prepare. Tender, sweet, and delicious, scallops make an impressive and elegant meal in about ten minutes time. I keep a bag in the freezer just for times when I really crave them, which is more often than I care to admit. The only advance planning required is to thaw them in the fridge overnight. 

This is the recipe I use most often, and it serves one because the picky Mr. O-P doesn't care for scallops. It can easily be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc. depending upon the number of people you are serving, just be sure to increase the size of the pan. The sauce is delicious and excellent when served over rice (We always end up with way too much rice from Chinese carry out, so I freeze it for such occasions.) or angel hair pasta.

Scallops with Lemon Butter

4 sea scallops

1 Tablespoon canola oil

Pinch of Old Bay seasoning

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon capers

Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Dust both sides of scallops with Old Bay seasoning. Carefully place in hot pan and saute on each side until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Carefully drain off excess oil, if any, and turn off heat. Drop in butter and capers, and squeeze in the juice from the half lemon. Shake pan to blend ingredients. Salt and pepper, to taste. Serve at once, garnished with parsley.

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Potatoes au Gratin with Chanterelles

I'm not sure just how often you get excited about potatoes, but that is about to change. These potatoes are going to excite you, your family, and your friends in a major way. This past week we had our baseball bud, Lennie, over for dinner. We see Len about three times a month, or more, during the baseball season.

I was in the mood to cook the day he was scheduled to come (fortunate for us both, I think), and began at ten thirty that morning. Instead of trying my usual one new recipe, as I do when he joins us, I was trying four. The main dish was a tried-and-true good one, Marinated Pork Tenderloin, so I was safe there, and I knew that garden peas with sauteed mushrooms was a winner as well. To accompany this I tried Cannellini Bean Dip for a snack, Marinated Cucumber Salad (good, but still needs some tweaking), Oatmeal Cake for dessert, and a recipe that I had been thinking about at night before I fell asleep (I do that sometimes. Most times. Okay, ALL of the time, if you must know.), au gratin potatoes to which hydrated dried wild mushrooms have been added.

I'll tell you what, when you create something that makes people moan, you know that you have a success on your hands. Lennie said the entire meal was delicious, but that the potatoes were outstanding. My dad, to whom I delivered this same meal the following day, called it exceptional, citing the potatoes in particular. The potatoes! Have you ever had anyone fuss so much about potatoes? You will now.

This recipe is not difficult, but really demands the use of a mandolin. The slices need to be very thin in order to get the proper potato-to-mushroom ratio. Elegant enough for company with its earthy flavor from the chanterelles, and nuttiness from the Gruyere, this is the dish that people will be talking about the next day. Yes, it is that good!

Potatoes au Gratin with Chanterelles

1 .5-oz. pkg. Melissa’s dried Chanterelles, hydrated, drained, and rough chopped

¾ teaspoon minced garlic
1-1/2 pounds russet potatoes
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup grated Gruyere

To hydrate mushrooms: Empty packet of dried mushrooms into a deep bowl and cover with 1 cup of warm water. Allow to soak for 20-30 minutes until hydrated. Drain mushrooms through a fine mesh sieve 2-3 times in order to remove all grit.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 350ºF.

Peel potatoes and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices (preferably with an adjustable-blade slicer). Bring potatoes, cream, milk, salt, white pepper, nutmeg, and garlic to a boil in a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot, stirring occasionally; remove from heat.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer half of potatoes to a buttered 1-1/2 quart gratin dish, spreading evenly. Spread mushrooms evenly over potatoes, top with remaining potatoes. Pour cooking liquid over potatoes and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake gratin until top is golden brown and potatoes are tender, 1 hour. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

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