Prime Rib Side Dish: Scalloped Potato Gratin

Warning - this dish is not for those on a diet or those faint-hearted around mounds of delicious cream. But this dish is fabulously easy to make - and delicious. Daughters last year were scooping it up as if there was no tomorrow. The heavy cream - oh wow - just makes it taste SOOO good.

The main difficulty with this dish is the technical skill required for slicing the potatoes evenly. Evenly is the key word here - and the more even, the more beautiful and refined the dish. If you have a mandolin or Japanese mandolin, this is THE perfect time to whip it out and slice those beautiful potatoes evenly. My mother, the master chef she is, can cut them evenly with a knife, but I did it with a mandolin to superb results.

I cooked this towards the latter portion of the prime rib underneath the prime rib, and then finished it off after the prime rib was done and resting. Perfect results.

wow...writing this makes me want to make it- and EAT IT!

Scalloped Potato Gratin (from Tyler Florence)
Serves 8

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Butter
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for broiling

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a saucepan, heat up the cream with a sprig of thyme, chopped garlic and nutmeg.

While cream is heating up, butter a casserole dish. Place a layer of potato in an overlapping pattern and season with salt and pepper. Remove cream from heat, then pour a little over the potatoes. Top with some grated Parmesan. Make 2 more layers. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Sprinkle some more Parmesan and broil until cheese browns, about 5 minutes.

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