Review: Gratin Dauphinois - Jan/Feb '02

[mb]

made this last night to go with some grilled steak and marinated tomatoes. in a word: delicious! even DH who isn't so thrilled with potatoes really enjoyed it and OK'd making it again.

of course, i must admit i used a little more cheese than the recipe called for...:o

marisa :)

[paula]

I have several questions for anyone who has made this recipe. I tried it with sweet potatoes and cheddar, and the resulting were tasty but not very attractive... The potatoes baked nicely, but the milk and cheese seemed to coagulate into scattered white lumps. The potatoes and white lumps were virtually swimming in a large volume of clear colorless liquid. When I think gratin, I think of a creamy sauce, but this was very watery. I have frequently used this brand of cheese for sauces with great success. Any suggestions?

Paula

[Grace]

Paula, I think it's got to do with the potatoes. Regular potatoes have more starch, and I think this recipe relies on the starch from the potatoes to thicken up the sauce. You might have to make a nice cheese sauce on the stove using corn starch to thicken, then pour over your sweet potatoes and bake. That would be my guess.

[mb]

ok, i'm embarrassed...jholcomb already posted a review for this - i did a search before starting a new thread, but i didn't see it! the link to that thread, in case anyone's interested is:
http://www.cookinglight.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18983
sorry! :o
marisa :)

ps paula, i don't know why that happened. sorry i can't help.

[mightyh]

I had the same thing happen with my gratin when I made it with sweet potatoes. We didn't mind it much--ate the whole thing in two days (I made a half recipe). I just assumed it was something you noticed so much more cause the potatoes were not white. Oh well... maybe the starch issue comes into play as well. Still, it's tasty--just not as attractive.