Recipe Corner

Delmonico Potatoes

According to the all-knowing internet, Delmonico refers to a famous restaurant in NYC in the 1800's. This is unlikely to be the true famed recipe, of course, as famous things develop knock-offs everywhere. Still, it came out of the tried and true Fannie Farmer cookbook. To make it more of a meal, I added diced ham with the potatoes.

It seems kind of labor-intensive, but it really didn't take me long. I cheated a lot. I didn't peel the potatoes--and I only used 2 medium baking size, even though I used a whole sauce recipe--and I sliced them before cooking them in water in the microwave while I made the sauce. I heated the milk in the microwave, just enough to keep it from clumping when added to the flour-butter paste, and toasted buttered bread so it was crisp and easy to crumb. It's probably not the healthiest thing in the whole world, but we both liked it.


6 potatoes, peeled and boiled
1 1/2 c White Sauce (see below)
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt to taste
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1/2 c grated mild Cheddar
1 c buttered bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 2-qt. casserole. Slice the potatoes 1/4 inch thick. Make the white sauce, then stir in the cayenne pepper, salt, egg yolks, and cheese. Stir over medium heat until the cheese melts. Spoon a film of sauce over the bottom of the casserole. Alternately layer potatoes (and ham) and sauce, finishing with sauce. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and bake 20-25 minutes, or until bubbling.


White Sauce

2 T butter
2 T flour
1 1/4 c milk, heated
salt
pepper

Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, but don't let it brown--about 2 minutes. Add hot milk, stirring as it thickens. Bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes more. Remove from heat.

Labels: Main dish, Side dish

posted by @lici@ @ 7:11 AM