Scalloped Potatoes

INGREDIENTS

• Russet potato, 2 ea
• Heavy cream, 1.5 cups
• Sharp white cheddar, 2 oz
• Shallot, 2 ea
• Rosemary, few sprigs
• Salt
• Pepper
• Butter

QUICK NOTE: It is always best to overestimate. These are cheap, versatile ingredients... better to have too much than not enough otherwise you gotta "last-minute-walk-of-shame-bustin-ass-it" to the grocery store. Don't do that to yourself

EQUIPMENT

• Mandolin
• Ramekin (small serving)
• Large baking dish (large serving)

INSTRUCTIONS

For the infused cream

• Peel & roughly chop half of your shallots
  • The remaining shallots will be finely diced and put on top and caramelized as it cooks uncovered
• Add shallots, cream, rosemary, salt & pepper to sauce pot
• Bring to a rapid boil over med-high heat, once boiling, lower heat to maintain a simmer and reduce by 1/3... ~8 minutes
  • Keep an eye on the pot... if unattended, the cream will boil over and you will be left cleaning up a big ass mess with only yourself to blame
• As the cream approaches that 1/3 reduction, give it a taste and correct the seasoning
  • It is probably going to need more salt... PLEASE do not under salt this cream
• Pour cream through a fine mesh sieve, push the shallots gently with the back of a spoon to release all that flavor. That 11/2 cups of cream should have reduced to 1 cup of beautifully infused cream
• Allow to come to room temperature before incorporating with potatoes

For the potatoes

• Peel and wash the potatoes
• Slice on mandolin into thin rounds
  • QUICK NOTE: DO NOT prep potatoes too far ahead of time. Potatoes oxidize, meaning they brown once exposed to air. Peeling and slicing the potatoes should be the last thing you prep

A note on cheese

• Do NOT buy pre-shredded cheese. Buy the block and shred it yourself. You're probably asking yourself why?
• So glad you asked, "they" (the cheese people, I guess) add preservatives to pre-shredded cheese because of course they fucking do. This impacts the way the cheese tastes and melts compared to block cheese
• So buy the block, grate it yourself, avoid the bullshit and (if that doesn't convince you) grating cheese gives you a pretty solid arm pump. I think I made my point

Putting it all together

• Grease the baking dish with butter... you can literally take the stick of butter and paint the dish if that's what you're into
• Begin layering the potatoes, you want to arrange slightly overlapped to allow room for the cream mixture to spread throughout
• Layer the potatoes leaving some room at the top... ~1/2 inch
  • If you want to get real crazy, you can add another layer of cheese and shallots at the halfway point... I can assure you nobody will complain about this. If they do they can come see me.
• Add the infused cream, filling to just shy of the top of the potatoes
• Add the shallots, then top it off with the shredded cheese
  • Make sure you evenly distribute the shallots, they create a lot of the flavor in this dish and if you need to add more shallots to the middle layer or the top layer... I would highly encourage it
• Cover with foil and make sure to leave room at the top, you don't want the cheese to melt on to the foil and get ripped off when you remove it

The hot part

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
• Bake covered with foil for 45 minutes (small serving) / 1 hour (large serving)
• Remove foil, and bake for additional 45 minutes (small serving) / 1 hour (large serving) or until golden brown * Cook times can vary, everybody's kitchen is a little different. As such, I will offer this visual cue to judge whether its done or not. I would suggest you cook uncovered until golden brown on top... however long that takes
• This comes out of the oven hot as a mofucka so allow ~15 minutes to rest before serving
• And now the MOST IMPORTANT step. Prepare to receive a shower of compliments from everybody except the person hosting, because they're going to be pissed that you showed up and stole their thunder with this side dish. Handle this situation however you see fit and ENJOY!