A Day Out

Still having fun with my youngest nephew, we decided to take in both the redwoods and the beach on his last day here. Sweetie drove as we headed west to Freestone and the Wildflour Bakery. This place is always busy when it's open, with a line up to the doorway where, post-pandemic, you order what you want and they bring it to the door and hand it through after you pay. To help you decide what to order, there is a six foot tall chalkboard that lists the day's offerings...all kinds of bread baked in the wood-fired oven, plenty of varieties of scones, amazing sticky buns and more. 

When it's our turn I mention that my nephew is a professional baker and ask if he can come into the oven area...which he does through the back door. He really enjoyed chatting with the bakers and seeing the production area and that oven. He said that there is a space at least five time larger than what can be seen from the door and that there were something like 80 bannetons for shaping bread all stacked up on benches in that area. It was the final bakery of the trip and a good way to end the bakery visits.

We headed down the Bohemian Highway to the Russian River and then to Armstrong Redwoods, not far outside of Guerneville. We'd been there before with him when he visited as a teen, but it never gets old.

 

It was still a bit foggy and damp but the sun was starting to come through and a brisk walk through the woods warmed us up. Here's a wood orchid we saw on a bank near the Forest Theater.

Once back in Guerneville, we headed west toward the ocean and eventually turned south near Goat Rock.

 We stopped there and a few other places along the coast as we headed to Bodega Bay. 

At Doran Beach we hit the sand and enjoyed the sea air. The tide was out and it was pretty windy but the day had brightened and warmed a bit.

Our last stop was at Blue Water Bistro just south of Doran 

where we had a fantastic lunch and a view of the bay, with plenty of local crab, which is great because it's crab season. I can't have crab...allergies...but enjoyed a wonderful salad.

It was a great day out! 

A Visit From Another Baker

I have lots of friends and family, but most of them are not bakers in the semi-obsessed way that I am. This past week I was lucky enough to spend time with my nephew who is a professional baker. He is even more obsessed than I am. To start out I recommended quite a few books from my collection and he plowed through a big stack of them over the six days he was here. One of his favorites was a book about the science of bread. He does a lot with sourdough at the bakery where he works, so he understands the importance of knowing how and why the yeasts work.

Of course we baked together (see 2/15/26 post) and on his second day here we ate at a local bakery, Sarmentine, where we enjoyed a trio of French inspired baguette sandwiches and a sweet, caramelized kouign amann. The most fun for me was on his next-to last day here when we did what Sweetie called a 'bakery crawl', starting at a bakery supply business in Petaluma, Keith Guisto Bakery Supply.  Central Milling is there, a business that mills a wide variety of grains. They even sell 10 lb bags of some of the flours in their retail store, along with select books and a wonderful selection of baking tools. That was followed by a visit to Della Fattoria Downtown Cafe and Bakery, also in Petaluma, where we bought some naturally fermented bread, including a cinnamon twist that we pulled apart with our hands as we sat outside in the sun...it was gone quickly.

After a peek at the pies in the Petaluma Pie Shop and a quick lunch at a wonderful Mexican place on Kentucky St., we headed to Santa Rosa. Our first stop was at Gougette, a French inspired bakery near Memorial Hospital. No meals or beverages here (although they do have ice cream), just amazing bread and pastries. We were able to see production baking as two of their bakers shaped dozens of baguettes, ready for proofing. We took home a selection of brioche pastries with fruit, and a baguette. Next up was Grossman's a restaurant with great Jewish deli offerings. At the back they have a retail area where we bought hamantaschen that had a savory sesame paste filling, topped with apricot jam and poppy seeds, and an everything bagel that filled the car with a wonderful onion fragrance. By the time we made it to Marla's further along in Railroad Square, it was just 3 pm and they were closing, so we were only able to purchase a baguette, but it was a great one and the owner chatted with us about baking, so it wasn't so bad.

The next stop was in Sebastopol at Patisserie Angelica, located near the movie theatre. We bought a flourless chocolate cake for my birthday (above), plus some baklava. The baker also gave my nephew some baguette ends so that he could taste theirs.

All in all, quite a wonderful day!

The following day we also stopped in Freestone at Wildflour Bakery for some of their famous Sticky Buns, three kinds of scones, and a loaf of their Superseedy Bread. Sweetie also purchased their cheese bread, but it wasn't our favorite. Our professional baker was allowed into the back where the baking happens and had a great time chatting with them about the wood fired ovens and such. As you might imagine, we are still working our way through all that bread (although the pastries and cookies are gone...and there is only a bit of the cake left). Unfortunately I didn't take photos as we went along, but check out the links and you are sure to see many of the things we bought and enjoyed.

Wildflour Bakery breads

A Bread Rich in Oats and Grains

 It's always especially fun to have a visitor who enjoys baking. This time it's the youngest nephew, who is a professional baker in Virginia. He is quite adept with sourdough, but I no longer have a sourdough starter. I bake so infrequently now that I keep the packets of yeast in the freezer.

We decided to make a bread based on cooked oatmeal, which also have rolled oats in it and around it. Because we can, we added multi grains which add flavor, texture, and nutrition. This one is a two day process, so plan accordingly if you are going to make it.

This is a fairly dense bread, moist and delicious, especially if you like oatmeal and a mixture of grains and seeds. Be sure to grease the bread pan if you do the final step of rolling the shaped dough in milk and then the rolled oats as we did. Makes great toast!

Triple Oat and Mixed Grains and Seeds Sandwich Bread

recipe by Elle

Poolish:
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup steel cut oats, cooked for 5 minutes in 3/4 cup boiling water, stirring constantly, then cooled to tepid
1/2 cup quick style rolled oats
1 cup sourdough starter
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt

Dough
1/2 cup buttermilk at room temperature
1 tablespoon honey
1 egg, beaten slightly
all of the Poolish
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup + bread flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 cup King Arthur Baking Harvest Grains Blend (four grains (whole oat berries, millet, rye flakes, and wheat flakes) and four seeds (flax, poppy, sesame, and sunflower) 
1/2 cup whole wheat flour

Wash and topping:
1 egg yolk, mixed with 1 tablespoon warm water
2-3 tablespoons old fashioned rolled oats

Whisk all the ingredients for the Poolish together. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in cool place overnight, or for at least eight hours.

In a heatproof measuring cup or bowl, mix together the buttermilk and honey. Warm slightly in the microwave. Cool if needed so that it is no hotter than 110 degrees F. Mix in the egg.

Take all of the Poolish and put into a stand mixer bowl. Using paddle attachment, mix in the buttermilk mixture, the rolled oats, and 1 cup of the bread flour. Remove the paddle and using the dough hook, incorporate the remaining flours and seeds (which have been combined in a bowl). If needed, use more bread flour, a tablespoon at a time, to make a dough that cleans the side of the mixer bowl. Knead with the mixer and/or by hand for 8 - 10 minutes until dough is elastic and somewhat smooth.

Place dough in oiled bowl; turn dough to oil other side. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Punch dough down and turn out onto a floured board. Knead lightly a few times to release trapped air. Divide dough in two pieces. Shape each piece into a loaf shape. If desired, roll in milk (I put enough in a baking pan to barely cover the bottom with milk) and then roll in rolled oats (a slightly thicker layer of rolled oats in another baking pan) and put into a greased loaf pan. (If you prefer, just put shaped loaf into the greased loaf pan.) Cover and let rise until almost to the top of the pans, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. about 15 minutes before bread is ready to bake.

If loaves have not been rolled in oats, brush egg wash over the top of each loaf and sprinkle liberally with the rolled oats. Cut slashes in the top of the loaf. If you rolled the shaped loaves in milk and oats, just cut the slashes. Either way, bake in a preheated oven for about an hour, until top of bread is golden and loaf sounds hollow when bottom is tapped. Cool on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing. Makes 2 smaller loaves or one large loaf and a baby loaf.

Gingerbread and Lemon Sauce

 

Winter is a great time for warming spice-rich foods and also for citrus. This dessert, which made a great birthday cake for a friend, has both of those, plus molasses. I guess some folks don't like molasses - it does have an assertive flavor - but everyone at the table were fans, so the plates of gingerbread squares topped with glistening lemon sauce were enjoyed by all.

If you have a favorite gingerbread recipe, feel free to use it instead of this one, but do make the lemon sauce. It really makes the dish! Somehow the spiciness of the gingerbread is matched well with the zestiness of the lemon in the sauce, each enhancing the other. It doesn't hurt that it's an old family favorite sauce, plus it's easy to make. I made mine the day before and re-heated it at dessert time. I made the cake the same day, but allowed time for it to cool.

For serving you can either place the squares of gingerbread on a dessert plate or in a shallow cereal size bowl. Don't forget the lemon sauce!

Spicy Gingerbread
Based on a recipe from Williams-Sonoma Muffins

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (7 ½ oz/235 g)
½ teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
¼ teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons ground ginger 
1 ¼ teaspoons grounds cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon stem ginger, syrup drained, finely minced
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (4 oz/125 g)
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar, light or dark (3 ½ oz/105 g)
2 large eggs
2/3 cup molasses, light or dark (4 oz/125 g)
2/3 cup buttermilk (5 fl oz/160 ml)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (180 degrees C.) Grease and flour an 8 or 9 inch (20 or 23 cm) square baking pan or dish. If using a glass baking dish, use 325 degrees F (165 C) for oven temperature.

On a sheet of waxed paper, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Beat in the molasses. Add the dry ingredients in 3 increments, alternating with the buttermilk. Beat well until fluffy and smooth yet thick.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.

Bake until the top is dry to the touch and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan, 35-40 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes.

Serve the gingerbread warm or at room temperature, cut into squares. Can be garnished with Nancy's lemon sauce (recipe follows) or lemon curd or whipped cream.

For a treat, serve with Nancy's Lemon Sauce.
Nancy’s Lemon Sauce

½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice (I used Meyer, but any lemon juice and zest is fine.
Zest from 1 lemon

In a saucepan, mix the sugar and cornstarch thoroughly. Gradually add the boiling water, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and boil at full boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Add butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and stir until well blended. Serve warm. If using on top of the gingerbread, use a generous amount, perhaps 2-3 tablespoons per serving, or more.

The Last of the Honeybear Butternut Squash - In a Crostata

 I had fun growing butternut squash this summer knowing that these Honeybear squash, a smaller variant or the usual squash, would be easy to roast and enjoy. A few days ago I took the last one, which measured about 7-inches tall by 4-inches in diameter, cut off the stem, cut the rest of it in half, scooped out the seeds with a melon baller, put some foil on a baking sheet and oiled it, then put the two squash halves, cut side down onto the baking sheet and the sheet into a preheated 400 degree F oven. I baked it until tender when pierced with a knife (about 20-25 minutes? - I forgot to write it down but it was about that amount of time). After the squash had cooled enough to be handled, I peeled it and stored it in the fridge in a sealed container until I could bake with it.

Today was the day and the recipe changed from my planned calzone to an even better crostata - a freeform savory pie. I was inspired by a ravioli that I had once in a restaurant that had butternut squash stuffed ravioli swimming in a sage butter sauce. This is a little more complicated, but still pretty easy.

It's fine to use premade pie dough circles. I like the refrigerated ones and I usually roll them out a bit more so the crostata has a larger diameter. It still isn't much wider than 8" in diameter because you fold some of the dough up and over the filling before baking.

Over the rolled out dough I spread some ricotta cheese that has been mixed with herbs and spices. This is when you decide how much dough to leave for folding. I left a bit over 2-inches to fold.

Next you sprinkle on some grated Parmesan. For best results, use real Italian Parmesan cheese. It has the full flavor you want.

Next you add the butternut squash. Slice or mash it, just make sure you have a fairly even layer covering the cheese layer.

Next you add leeks that you have already washed, sliced, and cooked in a combo of butter and olive oil until soft and translucent and with a few bits lightly browned. Again, cover the prior layer as evenly as you can.

Over this goes a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese, then more grated Parmesan. The last bit is to sprinkle on some chopped Italian parsley.

Now you're ready to fold over the dough that you have left uncovered. With a small bowl of egg wash and a pastry brush handy, you fold and sort of pleat the dough. There will be a center section of about 5-6 inches uncovered where you'll see mozzarella cheese, Parmesan, and parsley bits. The egg wash will both give you a lovely golden crust and it can help the pleats and folds of dough stay folded while the crostata bakes.

Now the crostata gets transferred to an oiled baking pan (I used a pizza pan) and baked in a preheated 400 degree F oven until  golden brown, about 25 minutes. Not only will the crust bake to a golden brown, but the cheese will brown a bit too. Photo at top shows the baked crostata, ready to serve.

Now you can serve it after it cools 10-15 minutes, or you can serve it slightly warm or at room temperature. I like it slightly warm. The combination of the three cheeses, the leeks and that wonderful winter squash with a flaky crust is delectable. Enjoy the fruits of your labors!

Butternut Squash Crostata with Three Cheeses and Leeks

An Elle the Baker Recipe
Serves 6-8

1 pre-rolled refrigerated pie dough round, such as Pillsbury Readycrust

1 cup ricotta cheese - if very moist, drain for 1/2 hour in cheese cloth over a sieve
1/2 teaspoon dry rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon dry thyme
1/8 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1 large or two small leeks, washed well, quartered, and sliced in thin slices
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 small baked and peeled butternut squash, about 2 cups
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 egg whisked with 1 teaspoon water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a pizza pan with olive oil or baking spray. If you have one, put a baking stone in the oven on a low rack before turning on the oven.

If cold, bring the refrigerated pie dough round to room temperature.

In a small bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, sage, Italian parsley, thyme and paprika, along with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. 

In a medium skillet, over low heat put the olive oil and butter and heat enough to melt the butter. Cook the leeks in the olive oil / butter over low heat until translucent with a few parts starting to brown, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Set aside.

To assemble the crostata, roll out the pie dough on a lightly floured clean work surface to 10 or 11 inches in diameter. (If you don't have a cake lifter or similar tool to move an 8-inch wide pastry, cut a piece of parchment or foil and place the pie dough on it. If it's foil, lightly grease it with baking spray.

Spread about 1 cup of the ricotta mixture over  the dough circle, leaving a 2-inch edge with no ricotta. This dough will be folded up and over the finished topping later. Sprinkle on 1/2 the Parmesan evenly over the ricotta. Top with the butternut squash as evenly as you can. Top with the leeks, distributing the leeks over the squash. 

Sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese and then the rest of the grated Parmesan. Sprinkle the parsley over it all.

Fold the plain outer edge of the dough over the filling, pleating and folding as needed. Use a pastry brush to coat the egg wash over the dough, including at the back of the pleats and folds. Gently push the egg-washed pleats and folds towards the rest of the dough to adhere.

Once the crostata has been filled, pleated and egg washed, check to make sure that the pre-heated oven is hot. Move the crostata to the pizza pan, either using a cake lifter or using the parchment of foil as a sling.

If you are using a baking stone, slide the pizza pan onto the stone and bake until the dough is golden brown. If you're not using a baking stone, slide the pizza pan onto the lowest oven rack and bake until the dough is golden brown.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese of the filling is beginning to brown, too.

Let cool a couple of minutes, then serve or let cool to warm or room temperature. Serve in wedges.

Happy 50th

A 50th birthday is always a milestone. For some of us it's a reminder of a January day 50 years ago and a bright bathrobe. She has had my heart from that day and I's so happy to help her celebrate 50 years of love. She is an awesome, smart, fun and funny woman who brings the light to so many.

Champagne all around! 

A Legacy

Today we celebrate Martin Luther King Day in the United States. 

As with many things these days, there are folks who will honor his legacy of non-violent protest and work for what is right, and those who will see him as something negative...somethings like instigator, uppity black man, or worse. 

I stand with those who see him as an example of how to bring change, an example of how to see each person, no matter how they look, as a reflection of the Creator, an example of how to work for peace, justice, and equality in a world that is drawn in the opposite direction many times. 

It is hard to believe that after all the years that have been spent, by many, working for that peace, justice and equality that we are still so far removed from Dr. King's Dream. 

May better days be ahead.

Oatmeal Loaf with Walnuts and Sunflower Seeds

This bread is similar to the last one I posted. It starts with cooked grain...in this case oatmeal. The cooked grain is cooled, then mixed with water and yeast and 1/2 cup flour and that mixture sits for an hour or so and gets all nice and bubbly.

That mixture gets mixed in a stand mixer with a tablespoon molasses, one and a half cups warm water, and flour...this time a mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat with a larger proportion being all purpose. You probably would like the actual measurements, but I don't have that...I used about two cups all-purpose and one cup whole wheat, plus a teaspoon salt. This all gets mixed in the stand mixer with the dough hook until the dough climbs the dough hook and starts to clean the sides of the bowl. What that amounts to is a lot of 'kneading' with the dough hook. I did that yesterday and then sprayed the dough, still in the stand mixer bowl, with olive oil, added a clean shower cap and put it all in the fridge overnight.

Today I warmed up the dough, de-gassed it in the bowl, turned it out on a lightly floured board and kneaded in 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup sunflower seeds. Far less seedy than the last bread, but still delicious. I shaped it, put it in a greased large loaf pan, sprayed the top with olive oil, added the shower cap and let it rise until a little under the pan edges. Back into the fridge it went for an hour while I ran errands. Warmed it up again, removed the shower cap and scored the top, it was a little over the pan edges by now and ready to bake for 50 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven. Great bread! Not a artisan bread with lots of holes, but a sturdy loaf with a good crumb, just moist enough, great flavor and a great bread for toasting! I like the walnut flavor with this and there are just enough seeds for flavor but not as much seed texture as last time.

It's great to be back to making bread,

Super Seedy Bread and Some Wise Men

Well, we've reached the last day of Christmas. You don't know what I mean? Ah, yes, modern society has almost done away with the Wise Men...in more ways than I like to think about, really.

Today is Jan. 6th, also known in olden days as the Feast of the Epiphany. In the Christian tradition it is the day when the Wise Men from the East, who had been guided by a star, arrived in Bethlehem and found the Christ Child in a stable, in a manger (the kind that animals eat out of) because there was no room at the inn, due to the required census bringing so many people to town.

There are other things to remember about Jan. 6th, about no roof over heads and the fact that the ancient census required folks to return to their family area to be counted, so the Child and his parents were immigrants with no place to stay. Some modern Christians have seemingly forgotten about 'Love one another' and 'What you do to the least of these you do to Me' but many others remember, especially at Christmas. Fortunately we no longer have to return to where our family came from to be counted every ten years. It would take me a long time if I had to ride a donkey.

My family had a Nativity setup when I was growing up and it went on the mantle in the living room each year. On Christmas the Christ Child was added and on Jan. 6th the Wise Men were brought into the scene. Since I inherited that setup, I continue the tradition. Having no mantle, I set it up on the Willet hutch cabinet top shelf. This year I set Mom's photo right next to it, too. The Wise Men were behind the scene until this morning when I moved them to the front for Epiphany. Photo above shows how it looked this morning.

I had my own Epiphany (coming to a realization) a few days ago when it occurred to me that Sweetie had asked me to stop baking bread a few years ago because he was losing weight and has little will power to resist freshly baked bread. My realization was that he has been buying bread fairly frequently and eating it, so it seems I can bake bread again.

I started with a Super Seedy Bread based on THIS recipe. My seed addition (see below) included brown flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and 1/4 cup of the King Arthur Baking Harvest Grains Blend which has four kinds of grain flakes as well as four kinds of seeds. These grains are whole oat berries, millet, rye flakes, and wheat flakes and the four seeds are flax, poppy, sesame, and sunflower which you can add to any bread dough for their range of textures and taste.

After I finished the dough and let it rise for about half an hour, I covered the bowl of dough and let it sit the next day in the fridge. Once out of the fridge and warmed up a bit, I added those seeds and kneaded them in, shaped the dough into a loaf and put it in a loaf pan to rise. It made a really delicious and seedy bread that was excellent sliced with a little butter the day it was baked, but this morning it made awesome toast!

A great way to begin 2026 where there is sure to be more bread baking. I can hardly wait to have fun with hand in bread dough again!

Leftovers

 Many of us feel a rush of new energy with the coming of the New Year. I know I usually do. Still, resolutions seem a bit restrictive of this new energy so I also seem to use that energy to tackle leftovers.

There are, of course, food leftovers in the fridge and we had our share of those. Day by day since K's crew flew home we've put leftover mashed potatoes with some eggs for breakfast and cleared out those small containers of salad and cooked veggies. The crisper has yielded lunch and dinner salads. It's amazing what you can put into a salad in the way of leftovers! Soup is another leftover rich environment so soup has been a lunch time treat. Some things, like the ham bone and chunked ham, have gone into the freezer for future soup.

Another kind of leftovers are the places in our home where various kinds of things have sort of collected. I'm usually the culprit since Sweetie is really good at throwing things out in a reasonable amount of time. I tend to think that I'll need it later...and then don't remember I even have it.

So the day after New Years I sorted through the drawer that holds my greeting cards and now I know what usable cards I have and also that I have some return address labels with my name from when I donated to the National Parks. Bonus was I also found some pads of paper. I'm still a pen and paper, make-a-list kind of gal, so pads of paper are always welcome.

I won't go on, but you get the idea. Leftovers can be great or terrible, but new year energy has been applied.

Which brings us to last night's dinner casserole. It started out as a way to use up some leftover grilled Italian sausages, but ended up being an amazingly delicious casserole that didn't scream 'leftovers' at all.

I don't actually have a recipe since I made it up as I went along, but I can tell you what went into it and you can probably figure out how to make one of your own that is truly yours...it will have your specific leftovers!

First I checked out the fridge and pantry to see what was available and what needed using up. Besides the sausage, I found two partly used packages of pasta; one of orecchiette and one of mixed veggie twists. I found part of an onion and a handful of fresh green beans in the crisper, plus newly purchased cremini mushrooms, some mild hard cheese and some Parmesan ends in the cheese drawer, and last of all, a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup. I knew that I had both butter and margarine, plus dry bread crumbs. Bonus was an unopened jar of roasted red peppers.

With these I was able to make a pasta casserole that included sliced Italian sausages, sautéed onions and mushrooms, steamed green beans, small pieces (hand torn as it turns out) roasted red pepper, all mixed into a pasta mixture that included the can of cream of mushroom soup and some pasta water to make it the right consistency. That mixture was topped with a mixture of melted butter, grated cheese, and dry bread crumbs and the whole thing was baked at a high temperature for about 15 minutes until the casserole was bubbly and the topping was golden brown. Because of the flavor developed by the slow cooked onions and mushrooms I didn't even add salt or pepper or herbs and it was still delicious.

So I wish some leftovers for you, dear reader. May your new year bring you new energy and the ability to look at old things with new eyes.

All the Best in 2026!

 

Scalloped Potatoes

The family is here for Christmas, so R and I did some cooking and baking together...something we enjoy. We had ham for Christmas Eve dinner, and I knew that scalloped potatoes go well with ham. Usually I make Julia Child's Pommes Savoyard, a dish where thinly sliced potatoes are baked in broth in a casserole with a bit of onions and some Swiss cheese. This time I decided to jazz it up a bit by adding some milk, thyme, peppercorns and extra Swiss cheese. I infused the milk with the thyme and a few peppercorns, but then strained it into a large bowl, then added the broth.  Immediately after slicing them, we coated the potatoes with that mixture. This allowed the starchy potato juices to blend into the liquid as well as allowing the liquid to coat the potato slices to keep them from turning brown. That extra starch thickens up the sauce just the right amount. Most of the rest of the recipe was Julia's recipe.

Look at this close up! Tender, flavorful potatoes, golden top crust, crispy bits of browned cheese at the edges. So good.

We enjoyed a delicious potato casserole with tender potatoes well flavored by the milk, broth, thyme, pepper and cheese, plus some butter and onion and garlic. Most of the liquid was absorbed by the potatoes as the casserole cooked with the rest forming a delicate sauce, and the cheese on top makes a golden crust that is appealing in looks and taste.

All of this takes a bit of work, including peeling and slicing the potatoes, but it's worth it for such a delicious side dish. My family loved it...and I'll bet your family will, too.

Scalloped Potatoes

1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
5-6 peppercorns 
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons finely minced onion (I used about twice this amount...I love onions)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken broth (I used a bit more -see note below )
3 all-purpose potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled ( I used Idahos)
salt and pepper to taste
nutmeg, freshly grated if possible
1 cup grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese (about 4 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small pot heat the milk, thyme leaves and peppercorns until mixture simmers, then turn off heat and let sit while you continue to work on the recipe. 

Combine the butter, onion and garlic. Use on third of the mixture to grease a shallow 1 quart baking dish. (A shallow dish is important so that you get plenty of browned topping!)

Use a large fine-mesh strainer to strain the milk mixture into a large bowl. Add the chicken broth. Discard the residue in the strainer.

Take peeled potatoes and slice them 1/8-inch thick. Put them into the bowl of milk/broth mixture and turn until all the slices are coated with the milk mixture. Leaving the milk mixture in the bowl, remove half  of the potatoes and spread in the baking dish on top of the butter mixture, and season to taste with salt and pepper and nutmeg.

Sprinkle a third of the cheese over the potatoes. 

Arrange the remaining potato slices in an even layer over the cheese; season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Top with the remaining cheese.

Pour the milk and broth mixture over all and dot/spread evenly with the remaining butter mixture. Note: I made sure that the milk/broth mixture comes up almost to the top of the layered potatoes so that they will cook evenly throughout...you may need to use more broth than the recipe calls for but it is worth it and the broth cooks into the potatoes and cooks off so the potatoes keep their shape and are not soggy, so it's OK. No need to add additional milk; just more broth.

Cover and bake for 1 hour, then bake uncovered for another half hour or until the potatoes are tender throughout and golden brown on top and the milk/broth mixture is mostly absorbed. Serves 4 - 6.