This easy side dish is best made in a 12″ cast iron skillet – however it can be made in a casserole dish as well. The swirls of thin-sliced potatoes, bathed in a garlicky cream sauce, are topped with shredded Parmesan and Gruyere cheeses. This makes for such a beautiful and crispy presentation once broiled for just a few finishing minutes.

I hand-sliced my potatoes for this dish. In doing so, I realized that I just might need (yet another) kitchen gadget called a Mandolin – in the future. That will make the job of slicing potatoes about 10 times easier! At least I did discover that it IS possible to slice them by hand – to about 1/8″ thickness. In the true spirit of this blog – hand-slicing is the way my Mom would have done it too!

RECIPE: Serves 6 – 8

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 1/2 c heavy cream
* 2 tsp salt
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 Tbsp butter
* 2 small shallots, chopped
* 5 medium potatoes (red, yukon gold, white, or a mixture)
* 1 c Gruyere cheese, grated
* 1/2 c Parmesan cheese, grated
* 1 tsp fresh thyme or chives

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Wash and dry potatoes, with skin on. Slice into 1/8″ slices (either by hand, or with a mandolin). Set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine cream, salt, and garlic. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Stir and cook for about 5 min. Remove from heat, and set aside.

In a 12″ cast iron skillet, add the butter and shallots. Stir over low heat, for about 5 minutes, until shallots are caramelized.

Remove from heat, and arrange potato slices in a spiral pattern on top of the cooked shallots, starting from the outer edges working inward.

Pour the cream mixture over the potatoes. Cover tightly with foil, and bake for 1 hour 15 min. Remove from the oven, and uncover.

Turn the oven temp to BROIL. Sprinkle the top of the potato slices with the 2 cheeses, and the fresh thyme or chopped chives. Broil for about 5 min, til the cheese is crisp and the casserole is bubbling.

Remove from the oven, and cool for about 15 min. Serve warm.