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.

Sea Salt Cashew Brittle

The picture did not turn out so great , but the brittle sure did. It's a simple recipe and you don't even need a thermometer to make it. The recipe comes from the January 2011 Cooking Club magazine and I tweaked it just a little bit. I used less nuts and not as much salt, but so far there have been no complaints. The brittle turns out to have a light crunchy texture that is easy on the teeth!

Sea Salt Cashew Brittle

1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 cups lightly salted cashews

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp coarse sea salt

Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil; butter foil. Heat sugar, syrup and butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a full boil, gently stirring occasionally.

Boil, without stirring, 6 to 8 minutes or until syrup begins to turn pale golden brown. Continue boiling 2 to 3 minutes or until a shade darker, stirring only to evenly distribute color. Stir in cashews; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until syrup is a rich golden brown.

Remove from heat; stir in baking soda. Immediately pour onto baking sheet. Working quickly, spread mixture with a spatula as thin as possible. Sprinkle evenly with salt. Cool completely, break into pieces.

Can be made 2 weeks ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

White Chocolate - Candy Cane Fudge

If you like peppermint bark at the holidays as much as I do, you'll love this recipe! It takes it up a few notches and is rich and creamy to boot. The recipe was published in the January 2011 Cooking Club magazine. I prefer to use Bob's candy canes because I think they have the best flavor, but you can use whatever brand you like.


White Chocolate - Candy Cane Fudge


3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 (12-0z) pkg. white baking chips
1 ( 7-oz.) container marshmallow creme
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup finely crushed candy canes
1/4 cup coarsely crushed candy canes


Bring sugar, butter and milk to boil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce to medium, boil until mixture reaches 234 degrees, gently stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Stir in baking chips, marshmallow creme and vanilla. Stir in finely crushed candy canes. Pour into buttered 13x9-inch pan. Sprinkle with coarsely crushed candy canes. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.

Edamame w/ Mustard Vinaigrette

Sometimes it takes me awhile to get around to trying out a recipe that I have saved. This one comes from the October 2002 Cooking Light, but was worth saving. It's a simple dish that is light, fresh and fast to prepare.

Edamame with Musard Vinaigrette

1 1/2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 lb. frozen, shelled edamame, thawed

1 cup thinly sliced red onion

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add oil, stir with whisk until combined.

Cook edamame in boiling water 4 minutes. Add onion and celery, cook 1 minute. Drain well. Add edamame mixture to vinaigrette; toss well to coat. Stir in parsley. Chill 1 hour.

Chicken Tostadas

This great recipe comes from the July 2008

magazine (RIP). This recipe is simple to prepare and quick to make. What did we ever do before rotisserie chickens?

Chicken Tostadas

1 medium white onion

1 lb. tomatoes. quartered

2 large garlic cloves

1 or 2 fresh Serrano chiles, stemmed

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided

3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

1/2 cup chopped cilantro, divided

1 rotisserie chicken, meat coarsely chopped (4 cups)

6 (6-inch) corn tortillas

1 (1-lb) can refried beans, heated

1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup Mexican crema or sour cream

1/4 cup crumbled queso anejo( I used grated mont. jack instead)

Preheat broiler.

Cut half of onion into 3/4 inch wedges, then chop remainder. Toss onion wedges, tomatoes, garlic and whole chiles with 2 Tbsp. oil in a 4-sided sheet pan, spreading in 1 layer. Broil 4 inches from heat until softened and charred, 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, toss lettuce, radishes, chopped onion and half of cilantro.

Puree tomato mixture in blender with 1 tsp. salt until smooth. transfer to a bowl and stir in chicken, remaining cilantro and salt to taste.

Heat remaining 1/2 cup oil in a heavy medium skillet over medium -high heat until it shimmers. Fry tortillas, 1 at a time, turning once or twice and immersing with tongs, until golden brown, 45 to 60 seconds per tortilla. Drain briefly on paper towels, then transfer to plates.

Spread with heated beans and top with chicken mixture. Top with sliced avocados and crema. Mound with lettuce mixture and sprinkle with cheese.