Weekly Recipe: Scalloped Potatoes

If you're watching the current season of Top Chef, you know that one of the contestants recently had to 'pack her knives' for the lackluster potato gratin she made.  I knew it was bad when she assembled the dish the night before and didn't cook it.  Didn't she know that cut potatoes turn brown when air gets to them?  And without being soaked in water, what kind of texture are they going to have?  Mealy.  Yuck.  As Tom Colicchio said, and I'm paraphrasing, "If you can't make simple scalloped potatoes, you're not going to be a Top Chef."

So what did I do?  What any self-respecting home cook would do, I decided I needed to prove I was better than that chef and that I could make a great potato gratin dish.

I hadn't made scalloped potatoes in years but I had some leftover heavy cream in the fridge that I couldn't bear to throw away.  Then I saw this recipe on My Baking Addiction and knew it was meant to be. 

Look out Top Chef contestants, I'm coming for you!

Scalloped Potatoes
from My Baking Addiction

1 1/2 cups heavy cream (or a mixture of cream and whole milk)
1 sprig of fresh thyme (1/2 tsp of dried)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for broiling

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter or spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2.  In a medium saucepan, over medium-low heat, warm up the cream, thyme, garlic, and nutmeg.  Keep your eye on the cream because you do not want it to boil over.
3.  Place a layer of potatoes in the bottom of your prepared casserole dish in an overlapping pattern.  Season with salt & pepper.
4.  Remove cream from heat, pour a little over the potatoes.  Top with some grated Parmesan.  Make 2 more layers.  Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
5.  For that delicious golden brown top layer, sprinkle some more Parmesan and broil until cheese browns, about 4-5 minutes.