Dee’s Scalloped Potatoes Al Gratin

Dee’s Scalloped Potatoes Al Gratin

My mom makes great Scalloped Potatoes Al Gratin. I recently found out that it was actually my great-grandmother’s, Dee, recipe.  When I asked for the recipe, she told me she would share it as long as I promised not to get upset or angry with her. Cautiously, I agreed.

Dee’s Scalloped Potatoes Al Gratin (verbatim)

·      Onions

·      Bacon

·      Cream of celery

·      Milk

·      Salt

·      Pepper

·      Cheese

·      Potatoes

Sauté the onions, cook and crumble the bacon.  In a saucepan heat the cream of celery and milk to the right consistency add salt and pepper to taste.   Peel and slice the potatoes.  Put one layer of 1/3 of potatoes, spread 1/3 of each the bacon, cheese, onion and cream.  Then do it again 2 more times.  Baked covered for 45 minutes and uncovered for 45 minutes.

Then came my question, I’m sure you are all thinking it. How much? She smiled and said, “I told you would be mad.  Dee did it all by eye.” Oh the good ol’ days when moms just cooked by guess and by golly.

So here is my take on my great-grandmother Dee’s recipe. With measurements

·      1 large yellow onion diced

·      1 pound of bacon

·      1 (10.5 ounce) can of cream of celery

·      ¾ cup of milk

·      Salt to taste

·      Pepper to taste

·      1 pound of grated cheese (I use sharp cheddar)

·      3 pounds of russet potatoes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Sauté the onions, set aside. Cook and crumble the bacon, set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, simmer the cream of celery and milk for about 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stirring occasionally.

Peel the potatoes and slice them to about 1/8 inch thick. Layer 1/3 of potatoes, spread 1/3 of each the bacon, cheese, onion, and cream.  Then do it again two more times and leave the last bit of cheese off the top – we will put that on later.  Baked covered for 45 minutes and uncovered for 35 minutes. Add the remaining cheese and cook for 10 more minutes uncovered.  Let cool for 10 minutes.

We had a guest that did not eat pork so I left out the bacon in the small pan.

Well life is great if you have 2 ovens...... I only have one at work.  My oven was full with ham and corn bread so I went outside to use the BBQ.  I started early to find the right temperature.

Chicken Pot Pie

My five year old daughter has wanted to be a chef since she was three, she even asked Santa Claus for a cookbook this year. She loves to help my wife and I in the kitchen by coming up with meal ideas and thinking about what ingredients we should use. The other day she asked if we could make chicken pot pie, this post is from that inspiration.  

Here is my take on frozen vs. canned vs. fresh vegetables. I live in Southern California and have great access to fresh ingredients year-round – I’m lucky, I know.  If you have access to and time to prep fresh ingredients please do, if you are pressed for time, money or just plain lazy, frozen or canned vegetables are a good second choice. When it boils down to it (pun intended), veggies are veggies are veggies.  I change this recipe to use some local in-season items because they were available.  

Vegetables that I generally like and use in chicken pot pies:

• Potatoes
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Celery
• Yellow onions
• Green beans
• Canned corn
• Peas

Here is my easier chicken pot pie recipe. Later, I’ll share my grandmother’s pie crust, my chicken stock, and my cream of chicken recipes.

This is for the family, so it makes one pie.  I normally make two pies for the work family.

Ingredients:

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

2 potatoes cut into even bite-size pieces

1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed

2 carrots cut into even bite-size pieces

1 cup of broccoli cut into even bite-size pieces

6-8 ounces of green beans cut into even bite-size pieces(chopped should give you about 1 ½ cups)

1 small yellow onion, diced (chopped should give you about 1 ½ cup)

2 ribs of celery cut into even bite-size pieces

2 cans of cream of chicken (I like low fat, low sodium version)

2 unbaked store-bought pie crusts (9 inch) – told you this was easy

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Read the instructions for the pie crust.  Some crusts require you to remove them from the box and let them warm to room temperature.

In a saucepan on medium heat, add olive oil and potatoes.  Cook the potatoes until brown, only turn them as needed or it will mash them.  Once the potatoes are browned and cooked all the way through, about 20 minutes, place in a bowl.

Put the chicken in the same saucepan and add water until the chicken is covered.  Bring to a boil for 15 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the water, cube it and set aside in the bowl with the potatoes.

In the same saucepan, without water, over medium heat, cook the onions, carrots, and celery in olive oil until the onions are translucent and the carrots are fork tender.  Then add the broccoli, green beans and cream of chicken and cook for four minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Layout one crust onto a nine-inch pie pan and gently press against the sides.  Add the potatoes and the chicken, and then, add the cream of chicken and vegetables.  Put the second crust on the top of the pie. Using a fork, crimp the two crusts together. Cut the extra crust off and save. Cut 2-3 steam holes in the top of the crust.  Place in the oven for 30-45 minutes the crust should be golden brown.  Let the pie sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Take the extra crust and divide into the number of people eating dinner.  Make little round pies with the edges raised.  Take your favorite jelly or jam and put a spoon full in.  Put into the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the crust is brown.  You now have little fruit pies for dessert.

Real-talk tips:

No one likes cleaning their oven, if they tell you they do, they are lying! Put aluminum foil under the pie pan in case some of your filling bubbles over.

When cutting onions put a little lemon juice or lime juice on the onion. This has helped me not tear up while cutting.