Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Spice Rack Challenge: Mace -- Scalloped Potatoes Au Gratin – the best of both worlds



Traditionally, scalloped potatoes have tons of butter and cream and no cheese at all. It’s Au Gratin potatoes that are cooked in a cheese sauce. I decided to combine the two recipes and I came up with the absolute BEST potato casserole I have ever had!!! Truly, The Best of Both Worlds.  And the bonus part – mine are made with NO butter, NO cream and very little cheese! Believe me, you will not miss them. And the mace? A perfect, perfect spice – warm, unexpected and totally great with the gruyere…. But I am getting ahead of myself…. Follow along…..


Slice 3 pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes ¼ inch and simmer them for about 8 minutes or until they are tender. Whisk ¼ C flour into 3 Cups low-fat milk (2%) over low heat. Weird, I know.


While the potatoes are simmering away, bring the milk to a slow boil, stir a lot and believe it or not, it gets nice and thick….Add lots of black pepper, salt to taste and ¼ t mace (the Spice Rack Challenge of the month). Also add 1 C of grated Gruyere cheese.


Arrange about ½ of the potatoes in a greased 9 X 13 casserole; pour over ½ of the beautiful sauce. Make another layer of potatoes and sauce.


Sprinkle with another ¾ C gruyere. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Broil for a few minutes to get a nice crispy top. Let all that delicious sauce absorb into the potatoes...  SO GOOD! SO GOOD!


I literally ate my way through this entire casserole…. with no guilt because it’s not very high in fat/calories.

(printable recipe)

One Year Ago: Brisket ( I wish I gave this one a better name.... like BEST Brisket)
                        Cannoli Ice Cream Cake (Super easy and super impressive. I make it for company.)

11 comments:

  1. This looks AMAZING! I can't believe you used no butter or cream. Brilliant! I'm going to try this. I'm an avid user of mace myself and, well, I'm never without Gruyere cheese.

    Thanks for visiting my blog today. The Poe plates would certainly be perfect for your classroom studies these days. I plan on using them for a variety of occasions. I think a Poe Birthday celebration would be a great use of them. There's always something to plan, isn't there? ;-)

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  2. Oh my gosh... looks delish! I love scalloped potatoes... yum!

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  3. These do sound delicious. I doubt with all that yummy cheese, you would miss the butter and cream. I see you fixed your template, lol. Looks great though.
    -Gina-

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  4. I haven't seen Mace highlighted in a recipe in years! I love what you've put together here, Tracy. And to think, all those calories, lost!

    I've been dying for scalloped potatoes. I'm saving this for sure. Thanks for sharing, Tracy. I can see I'm going to like it here:)

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  5. This looks fantastic! Have a lovely weekend:)
    ~Anne

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  6. I love potatoes and this looks like a great recipe.

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  7. This sounds like a fantastic recipe Tracy.

    Real comfort food.

    Just the thing for these cold windy wet Autumn days.

    Hope you have a good weekend.

    Fiona

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  8. These look wonderful - full of yumminess - perfect comfort dish for this time of year :)
    Mary x

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  9. These potatoes look amazing. My husband and I love potatoes and I know we would love this recipe. Yummy!

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  10. This looks great. I've never cooked with mace. I need to check it out. I haven't done potatoes au gratin in ages. I'm ready for it now!!

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