Potato Gratin with Gruyere

I have made many different potato gratins in my day and they have never worked out right for me, until this recipe. For some reason it all came together and the flavor was wonderful! The recipe came from the December 2010 Bon Appetit. I am glad I saved it and that I prepared it. They called for the recipe to be prepared in a 9 inch glass pie dish, I chose to bake mine in a 12x6x2 inch glass dish.

Potato Gratin with Gruyere

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream

1 large garlic clove, peeled and slightly smashed

1 1/4 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/8-inch thick rounds

1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

1/4 cup whole milk

1/2 cup coarsley grated Gruyere cheese

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350. Generously butter 9-inch glass pie dish. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Combine garlic and cream in small saucepan and bring to simmer over low heat. Cover and remove from heat.

Arrange 1/3 of potato rounds, slightly overlapping, in concentric circles in prepared dish; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of thyme and season lightly with salt and pepper. Pour 1/4 cup garlic cream over. Repeat layering 2 more times with remaining potato, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic cream. Pour remaining garlic cream over, then whole milk. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake until golden brown and potatoes are very tender, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 4

Genessee Royale Bistro

Yesterday, my sister Myla and I, decided to try out Genessee Royale in the West Bottoms.

It's a new restaurant from the Happy Gillis people and we loved it just as much!

The space is located in an old service station that has been redone into a very nice eatery. They have a nice size patio and large glass service doors that will open when the weather turns nice.

I ordered a corned beef sandwich with Brussels sprouts and Myla had the Monte Cristo served with strawberry jam. We each took a half and enjoyed both. There were some other really good options and I can't wait to try it out again. I believe that they are not open for dinner, but have heard they might start serving it in the future. We saw Stretch, the owner of another favorite, Grinders, eating there and he seemed to like it too!

Genessee Royale Bistro is located at 1531 Genessee 816-474-7070.

Sausage Bean Soup

This great bean soup recipe comes from The Centennial Cookbook from The Pembroke Hill School. As usual, I made just a few changes to the recipe, but would probably make it a little different next time. This recipe uses the beans and their liquid, which adds a lot of unneeded sodium. You could probably keep the same thick consistency by draining and rinsing the beans, adding a couple of cans of broth and smashing a third of the beans in the pot. Either way, the recipe published below is really good.

Sausage Bean Soup

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1/2 lb. Italian sausage, casing removed and broken up

1 Tbsp. olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 carrots, chopped in 1/2-inch chunks

1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, undrained

1 (15 oz) can Great Northern beans, undrained

1 ( 15 oz) can navy beans, undrained

1 (14.5 oz) can no-salt diced tomatoes, undrained

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Saute onion, bell pepper and sausage in olive oil in large pot, browning sausage lightly. Add garlic and carrots and stir. Add beans, rinsing each can with water and adding that to the soup. You will add about 1 can of water total. Add tomatoes, cumin, cayenne and vinegar: stir. Add more water if needed. Simmer covered, on low, 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.