Taste of Tuesday - Potatoes!

I love potatoes. Maybe because I grew up so close to Idaho. Or maybe because they are so cheap and delicious. This recipe came from Martha Stewart Everyday Food. You can find it on her site here. Of course, I altered it just a wee bit. This recipe is a perfect side dish, making a kitchen staple more elegant. Here's my version of:

Muffin Pan Potato Gratins

Butter or nonstick spray to grease muffin tins
3-4 medium yukon gold potatoes (or red, or white, or russet)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
half-and-half

optional: rosemary, garlic powder, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly brush 6 - 12 standard muffin cups with butter or spray with nonstick spray. (I suggest two muffin cups per person.)
   
2. Thinly slice potatoes. You can use a mandolin, a knife, or a food processor. You want the slices quite thin, and ideally just the right diameter to fill the circumference of the muffin tin. Choose your potatoes wisely. This recipe does not work as well if you can't layer the potatoes just right.
   
3. Place 2-3 slices in each cup and season with salt and pepper. Continue adding potatoes, seasoning every few slices, until cups are filled. Pour 1 tablespoon half and half over each (adds just 20 calories per cup). If you want to add any herbs or garlic powder, do it with the salt and pepper in layers as well.
4. Bake until potatoes are golden brown and tender when pierced with a knife, 30 to 35 minutes. Run a thin knife around each gratin. Place a baking sheet or large plate over pan and invert to release gratins. Flip right side up and serve.
5. Optional -- sprinkle 1 T Parmesan cheese over every cup for the last 5 minutes of baking time.

Other ideas: use Gruyere cheese, alternate regular and sweet potatoes, add in some bacon crumbles, etc.

This easy and versatile recipe has become a staple in my kitchen. It is also a handy way to make a few potatoes go far.

Here are some poorly-lit photos. Yeah, I need a better camera if I really want to do anything justice on the blog.

Ready to go in the oven. Notice how mine are not laying flat? That's because I didn't choose my potatoes wisely! But I only had three left, so I just made them work. Learn from my mistakes.

Kyle ate all of the goop out of the pan. While saying "mmm, mmm."

Hang on! Let me take a picture before we eat! Here's the finished product.

And it snowed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Kate loved it!