Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes

We have a visitor this week, a friend from Florida.  The visitor is a boy, Hubby’s best friend.  Since I was out numbered I figured I would make some man food and did meat and potatoes.  The meat was super easy.  We had half of a beef tenderloin that I defrosted and sliced into fillets.  I rubbed them down with melted butter, salt, pepper, minced garlic and Hubby tossed them on the grill.  Before we tossed those yummy pieces of succulent meat on the grill I decided I was going to make some potatoes au gratin.  I had never made them from scratch before, but I have made a cheese sauce before so I figured I could work it out. 

The cheese sauce is soooo yummy and delicious and you can have it over veggies, potatoes, macaroni or anything you want to cheese up. :D    First I steeped onion, garlic and a bay leaf in 2 cups and half & half, then I made a roux, and then I stirred  in the thing we all love, cheese!  This will be a hit in your home. 

Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes

6 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced

2 cups half & half

1/4 slice yellow onion

1 bay leaf

3 garlic cloves, crushed

3 Tbs flour

1/8 ground pepper

1/4 garlic powder

2 1/2 cups shredded cheese (your choice)

2 bread slices

1 Tbs butter

In a small saucepan, combine milk, onion slice, garlic gloves and bay leaf. Place over a medium heat, until bubbles appear around the edges, about 5 mins, do not boil. Remove from heat and let it stand covered for 10 minutes. Remove onion, garlic and bay leaf, set garlic aside.

Mince garlic. Combine garlic & 1 Tbs of olive oil in large saute pan, at a medium high heat. Place potatoes in saute pan and fill with water. Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook till tender but still firm, do not over cook you don’t want the potatoes to mush. Drain and set aside.

In a heavy bottom saucepan, melt 3 Tbs of butter over medium-low heat. When the butter is melted, add flour and stir. Reduce the heat to low. Let the mixture bubble for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool for 1 minute.

Slowly add the mix to the roux, whisking as you add the milk. Return the pan to medium heat and bring to a boil, whisking often. Make sure you get the bottom and the sides. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, whisking often, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.

Test the consistency by dipping a wooden spoon in the sauce. Draw your finger across the back of the spoon, it should leave a clean track.

Whisk in 2 cups of cheese, cook over low heat, whisking constantly until melted and smooth. Add in pepper and garlic powder. Adjust seasoning to your taste.

Spray a 8×12 casserole dish with butter non-stick spray. Arrange 1/2 potatoes in the dish, pour cheese sauce over potatoes, layer the remaining potatoes and top off with cheese sauce. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.

In a food processor, pulse 2 slices of bread, till you have coarse bread crumbs. Combine crumbs with 1 Tbs of melted butter. Top potatoes with bread crumbs.  (I wanted to crush up some potatoes chips and use them as a topping in addition to the bread crumbs, but I didn’t have any, maybe next time.)

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, till top is crispy and bubbly.

Serve with a side of beef….:D