From the Garden: Recipe for Oven Roasted Potato Gratin with Bacon and Cream

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New russet potato

These days, my cooking style leans heavily toward whimsy.  Rarely do I plan a recipe or meal ahead of time other than ethereal thoughts.  (Which is why you will seldom see a holiday recipe on this blog that is posted before the actual holiday in any given year.)

And while it's true that I wake up most mornings thinking about what I'll cook for dinner, they are wispy thoughts, changing often during the day, usually inspired by what's directly in front of me - say, a freshly dug potato the proportions of which could easily feed two people.

Garden-fresh China rose garlic and sweet onions

So when I pulled said potato from the ground the other day, not so much visions of a meal appeared as floating bubbles containing words, tastes and smells and all I knew was that that particular very large potato would be combined with also-just-pulled onions and garlic.  Simple, straightforward food.


Bacon came into play when dicing changed to slicing which conjured up layers; cream, as onions and garlic were sizzling in bacon fat.


I know.  Bacon fat.  Cream.  Forgive me.    This is whimsy at its delicious worst.

Oven roasted garden potatoes with bacon and cream

Eat too much of this and it will expand your waistline.  [Suggestion: serve it to a crowd, guaranteeing no leftovers.]

Just dug, first-of-the-season russet potatoes have a thin skin (at least in my garden), are drier than the more waxy, less absorbent Yukon golds, and combine beautifully with any liquid that you want the potato to absorb, giving back creamy goodness on your plate. I recommend them in a dish like this.

The potatoes are growing just behind those wild onion stalks

Am I terrible to post a hot, oven-centric recipe like this in July?  Not in my kitchen.  The "summer" months of coastal far-northern California are foggy and cool - sometimes darn cold.  My zucchini struggle. The potatoes love it.


Oven Roasted Potato Gratin with Onions, Garlic, Bacon and Cream
Recipe by Christine Hills
Serves 8-12 small slices
Print
Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 large new russet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced crosswise in 1/8" to 1/4" thickness
• 1 medium sweet onion such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, peeled, cut in half from stalk to roots, then thinly sliced into half moons
• 6 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise
• 6 slices bacon, cooked to well done, save the bacon fat!
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup cream
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black peppercorns to taste

Preparation:
Set the oven to 350-degrees.
Prep the potatoes, onions and garlic per the descriptions above and set aside.
Start a large cast iron skillet or other heavy 12-inch skillet over high heat and add the bacon. When the bacon fat starts to melt turn the heat to medium-high and cook, turning over halfway through, until just crispy.  Remove the bacon to paper towels to drain.  Pour all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat from the skillet, reserving the bacon fat, and return the skillet to the heat.
Add the sliced onions and garlic to the pan and sauté over medium heat until soft and just beginning to get golden.  Remove them to a plate and set aside.
Add a bit more bacon fat to the skillet and warm it, if necessary, until fully liquid then remove the pan from the heat.
Place a layer of sliced potatoes in the bottom of the skillet.  I usually lay them down in overlapping rings beginning at the outside edge of the skillet and working to the center. Salt and pepper liberally then put down a second layer of potatoes. 
Spread the onion mixture evenly over the potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Do another layer of potatoes over the onions and yet another layer if you have enough potatoes.  Again, salt and pepper liberally but to your own taste.  Potatoes love salt.
Pour the cream around the edge of the skillet all the way around and then over the top of the potatoes.
Cut or crumble the bacon into small pieces and sprinkle these over the top.
Cover the skillet with a lid or foil and roast for 40-60 minutes or until all the cream is absorbed and the potatoes come apart when nudged with a fork.
Remove the lid and roast 7-10 minutes more to brown the top.
Slice into wedges to serve.

• If I don't have my son Josh's home cured bacon on hand, I use Niman Ranch applewood smoked, un-cured bacon which may be found at almost any well stocked grocery store.
• I use Strauss Family Creamery organic heavy cream in redeemable glass bottles.

[That whimsy part I was talking about? - where I change my mind mid-chop/slice/or dice and, whoops!, go off in another direction? - that can be a bit disconcerting to friends or family members helping out in the kitchen .  (Which, I suppose, is why I prefer to cook by myself.)  Although Mr CC, who is quite used to my culinary antics after almost 30 years of wedded bliss, has become quite the sous chef, able to deftly change directions at my whim - and he doesn't give me grief about it.]

Copyright © 2005-2012, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Earthquake Country Plus a Recipe for Roasted Cauliflower and White Cheddar Cheese Soup with Fresh Marjoram

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6.5 on the Richter scale is the official measurement of yesterday's earthquake that shook us up around 4:30 in the afternoon.

Sitting in my office chair, I felt a big jolt as if something had hit the building, a pause, the power went out, then bigger jolts, jumps, lateral shaking that scooted my chair several feet away from my desk, rolling - all lasting way too long.

This was a big one.

By that time I was up and out of my chair yelling up the stairs to Mr CC asking if he was okay - my heart pounding.

I'd experienced big earthquakes before in Chile and Argentina. Some of them rumbling through like a freight train on steroids, some of them the toss-you-against-the-wall type. But in all the years I've lived here, through all the earthquakes that happen fairly regularly, I'd never felt one like this. It had it all: that vertigo-inducing rolling, jumping up and down, shaking side to side. It was unreal; hard for the brain to grasp.

Amazingly enough, no damage occurred chez nous; nothing jumped off shelves or walls. Unlike Ferndale, parts of Eureka and Arcata, who all sustained some damage, we live on a rocky marine terrace above Trinidad and somehow escaped the worst of it. Thankfully, no people were badly hurt and no tsunami followed the earthquake - something we are all too aware is a possibility in our triple-junction corner of the world.

So with no power and darkness beginning to fall, we invited neighbors over to share the evening and a pot of soup with us. My trusty 1950s-era Wedgewood gas stove never fails to do the task assigned to it. That I couldn't use my stick blender as originally planned became a non-issue; the potato masher did a fine if more rustic job. The light and warmth from 25 candles, our good friends, a bottle of red wine, and the hand-cranked radio to give us updates, we were doing pretty well.

Roasted Cauliflower & White Cheddar Soup With Fresh Marjoram
Christine's original recipe
(print recipe)
Ingredients:
2 medium-sized heads cauliflower, separated into florets (organic and local is always best)
1 large yellow onion. peeled and chopped
2 Yellow Finn potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (yields 3-4 cups)
1 tablespoon (more if you wish) fresh chopped marjoram or 2 teaspoons dried
1/2 cup white wine
6 cups chicken stock (preferrably your own, but a good organic, low sodium broth will work just fine)
olive oil
unsalted butter for the pan
1 tablespoon kosher salt (more if necessary) and numerous grindings of black peppercorns
3 cups coarsely grated white cheddar cheese

Preparation:

At least 1 hour before starting the soup, put the cauliflower florets in a roasting pan with a drizzling of olive oil, cover the pan with foil and roast in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.

Remove the foil and continue to roast the cauliflower until it is tender - about 20 minutes more. You may need to add a bit more olive oil to prevent sticking and you may need to adjust the heat in your oven to prevent burning.

Begin sautéing the onions in about 1 teaspoon each olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté until the onions are tender. Adjust the heat so they don't burn.

Toss in the white wine and give it a stir.

Add the potatoes, chicken stock, salt, pepper and marjoram to the pot and cook over medium high heat, partially covered until the potatoes are tender.

Add the cauliflower and stir to blend and heat.

Remove the pot from the heat and, if your power is out, mash the soup with a potato masher until all the chunks are broken up.

Alternatively, run the soup through a food mill if you have one. Something I could have done but was vetoed from doing so by the hungry mob.

If you have lots of power, use a stick blender to make your soup smooth and creamy.

At this point you might need to add more chicken stock if your soup is too thick.

Taste and add salt and more pepper if desired.

Stir in the grated cheddar cheese until it is fully melted.

Et voila!, you are ready to sit around the table with candle-power all around you, great friends to talk to and share the events of the day with, and a hearty soup for the earthquake-stressed soul.

What could be better?

Copyright © 2005-2009, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved