Not Your Mother's Au Gratin Potatoes!!

Here is one of the ultimate comfort foods gone gourmet!  Hope you like it as much as we do!

Not Your Mother's Au Gratin Potatoes

Butter the inside of a 3 - 4 inch deep casserole dish.  (I'm a French trained chef so you will definitely see butter as my fat of choice in most dishes). 

Ingredients:

1 package no nitrate turkey bacon (you can use regular bacon or with nitrates - we just don't eat pork or nitrates).
6 medium potatoes peeled and sliced thin
1 Tbls. butter
1/2 medium yellow onion small dice
3 garlic cloves, minced

4 oz (1 stick) butter
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 cans unsalted creamed corn
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp. dried parsley
2 tsp. paprika
2 lb shredded white Vermont cheddar cheese (or other melt-able cheese of your choice: cheddar, mozzarella, smoked gouda, fontina, etc.)
2 cup bread crumbs, crumbled small
1 cup shredded white vermont cheddar cheese

Directions:

Saute bacon over medium heat until crispy.  Cool then chop into small pieces.  Set aside.
In a heavy sauce pan over medium heat melt butter.  Add onion and cook until translucent.  Do not brown.  Add garlic.  Cook 1 minute.  Add 4 oz butter, heavy whipping cream and creamed corn.  Let cook over medium heat until bubbly.  Continue to cook for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile peel and slice potatoes.  Also, in a medium bowl add together the bread crumbs and 1 cup shredded cheese.  Mix well.

Add all seasonings and chopped bacon to cream mixture.  Turn heat off on cream mixture and add shredded cheese.  Stir gently until completely melted.  Taste for flavor.  Add more seasonings if necessary. 

Place enough cream mixture in the bottom of the casserole dish to cover.  Add 1/3 of the potatoes.  Add enough cream to completely cover the potatoes.  Add 2 more layers just like the first one.  Pour any remaining cream mixture into the casserole dish. 

Cover with foil and bake at 350 F for an hour.  Check.  If potatoes are cooked, remove foil and sprinkle on bread crumb/cheese mixture.  Return to over to brown 5 - 10 minutes.  If potatoes are not cooked, cover with foil and continue to bake until done.

Remove from oven and serve. 

Enjoy!!!  I made this last Sunday as a side dish to meat loaf.  It was a hit!  Hope you like it!

This is Simply My Opinion!