My apologies, my dear readers, I haven't been feeling too inspired to do a lot of great cooking recently. You won't be disappointed by this one, though. Scalloped potatoes are another family favorite, and I've eaten them going way back. I consulted a bit with mom, though I was winging it quite a bit here. While my first attempt was not 100% successful, I present here the "lessons learned" version. You can use whatever kind of potatoes you like. I used the ever-versatile Yukon Golds. I also want to make a note about turkey ham. When I was younger, we always had a block of this stuff on hand, and we used to put it on everything - sandwiches, Ramen, mac and cheese, even quesadillas. It's a little lighter in flavor than regular ham, and very inexpensive. Still today, it often catches my eye in the grocery store.
Ingredients
- 4 good-sized potatoes
- 1 cup diced ham or turkey ham
- 2 tbs butter
- 1 1/2 cups skim milk
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 2-3 tbs flour
- Diced onion (optional)
- Grated Emmentaler or other hard cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel potatoes and cut into thin slices. Dice ham and onion (if using) into small cubes. Add just a little milk to a bowl, and stir the flour in to form a slurry. Mix the milk and half and half together, then add the thickening slurry.
Cover the bottom of a casserole dish with potato slices, overlapping them slightly. Use about one third of the potatoes. Sprinkle about half the ham and onions over the potatoes. Cut the butter into thin slices (it's easier if the butter is cold), and strategically place about half of it. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Pour some of the thickened milk mixture into the dish.
Cover everything with another layer of potato. Add the remaining ham, onions, and butter. Season this layer, and pour in more of the milk mixture. Cover with all remaining potatoes, season, and pour the rest of the milk in. Cover the top with grated Emmentaler (or a cheese of your choice). Bake until potatoes are soft, about 60 minutes.
I think you nailed this family favorite. You are right, turky "ham" is ever present in our fridge. Turkey "ham" is lighter, lower in fat and has a more tender texture than the pork based original. A thin slice and a little Gruyere will top or stuff your pork, chicken or veal cutlet and make it into a delightful Cordon Bleu. Your pictures are once again very illustrative and the finished dish looks great. You have a great casserole dish. Very classic.
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