Name: Cheesy au Gratin Potatoes
Total time: 2 h
Cuisine: US & Canada
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese; 1 1/4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese; 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese; 2 teaspoons cornstarch; 3 pounds russet potatoes , peeled and slice 1/8 inch thick; Salt and pepper; 3/4 cup heavy cream; 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Why This Recipe Works

The choice of potato was critical for our Cheesy au Gratin Potatoes. We settled on starchy russets cut to an even, near-translucent thinness with an inexpensive mandoline slicer. If you don’t have a mandoline, the slicing disk on a food processor would also work. We tripled the amount of cheese traditionally used to intensify flavor. Looking for better melting, we used a mixture of Monterey Jack, cheddar, and Parmesan. For extra insurance, we tossed the shredded cheeses with a bit of cornstarch to prevent clumps when melting. Many recipes called for both milk and cream, but the proteins in the milk caused the gratin to curdle in the oven. We decided to make our Cheesy au Gratin Potatoes with heavy cream, cutting the cream with some chicken broth.

Before You Begin

You do not need to grease the baking dish. You will need a 2- to 3-quart gratin dish.

Instructions

COMBINE CHEESES Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Toss cheeses and cornstarch in large bowl until evenly coated.

ASSEMBLE GRATIN Shingle half of potatoes in large gratin dish, sprinkle evenly with 1 cup cheese mixture, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Top with remaining potatoes, additional ¾ teaspoon salt, and additional ¼ teaspoon pepper.

BAKE Combine cream and broth in large measuring cup and pour over potatoes. Top with remaining cheese mixture and bake until golden brown and fork inserted into center meets little resistance, 75 to 90 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes. Serve.