Monday, June 29, 2009

Grandma's Scalloped Potatoes

What I'm about to say needs to come with a disclaimer: I have never tried another recipe for traditional scalloped potatoes, so this is completely my own opinion, but I truly believe that my grandma's scalloped potato recipe is the best in the entire world. Whenever I taste them, I'm automatically transported back to my childhood, when she used to serve them with homemade white bread and thick pork chops, dredged in flour and fried. To round out the meal, we'd always drink cans of caffeine-free Coke, and for dessert: canteloupe fresh from the garden, dripping with juice. Food can be a really powerful thing, with its ability to transport you to another time and place.

My grandma lives in a retirement community now, in a tiny apartment with only a stovetop and no oven, so she can't make her scalloped potatoes anymore. When she moved there, she passed along to my mom the special casserole dish she always made them in, and when my mom died the casserole dish passed on to me. I've never used that dish for anything other than Grandma's potatoes.

There's nothing really special about this recipe or its ingredients; it's straight-forward and simple and just very homey. But because of the memories it evokes, to me it's one of the best-tasting things in the world.

Grandma's Scalloped Potatoes
Source: Grandma P.

3 pounds potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup flour
Salt and pepper
Butter
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
Milk (estimate it: you want enough to entirely cover the potatoes)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper. Heat milk over low heat in a small saucepan.

2. Butter a casserole dish. Layer a third of the potatoes in the bottom. Top with half of the sliced onion. Sprinkle half of the flour mixture over the onions and dot with butter. Top with 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Add another layer of potatoes, the rest of the onion, the rest of the flour mixture, dotted with butter, and another 1/2 cup of cheese. Top with remaining potatoes and the remaining cup of cheese.

3. Pour milk over potatoes. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 1 hour, or until potatoes are fork-tender.

7 comments:

Creative Classroom Core said...

Just look at all the cheesy yummyness! Great job!

Anonymous said...

Are these different from the scalloped potatoes you posted a while back-I think you said they were your mom's recipe?

Cassie said...

Yep, Patty, these are different. These are "real" scalloped potatoes!

Keri said...

These look delicious, Cassie, and I know what you mean about food transporting you back in time. My mom's green bean and corn casserole does the same thing:-)!

Ali @ Jamhands.net said...

What is the consistency of the sauce for you when you make this? Also what size pan do you use?

I made it at directed, and used just enough milk to cover the potatoes. After baking as directed it was very watery looking, not thickened in the slightest. Is that normal? I haven't had homemade scalloped potatoes before so I'm not sure.

Not sure where I went wrong here. It looked so great but once you dug in it there was so much liquid it wasn't really edible. :(

Cassie said...

Hi Ali: I'm sorry they didn't work for you. :( I would say the consistency of the sauce is thinner than in some recipes I've seen that use cream. However, I've never had as much liquid as it sounds like you did! I haven't made these for awhile so I'll try them again soon and see if I can pinpoint the problem. I always use one specific dish for these so I'll try them with a standard casserole dish this time. In any case, thanks for commenting, and I'm sorry they didn't work out. :)

Ali @ Jamhands.net said...

Thank you for the feedback Cassie :)
I'm almost wondering if I cut up too many potatoes and then had to use more milk to cover them, but didn't increase the flour.

I was able to fix them so they weren't wasted. I drained off most of the liquid and popped it back in the oven for a good 40 minutes and that helped a lot. I also think I goofed by using a pan that might be slightly larger than a 9x13, so that would've made me use even more milk. Doh! My mistakes there. :)