Friday, December 5, 2008

Potato gratin recipe by Alice Waters (Chez Panisse)

From Alice Waters, Author of The Art of Simple Food

Alice Waters

The Art of Simple FoodI like this best when the potatoes are sliced quite thin (a mandoline makes this easy): that way the potato slices are less likely to curl up and burn on the edges. Yukon Gold and other waxy, yellow-fleshed potatoes keep their texture in a gratin; floury potatoes like russets fall apart. --Alice Waters


Potato Gratin
(4 servings)

Rub a 9- by 12-inch gratin dish with:
Butter

Peel and slice about 1/16 inch thick:
4 large yellow potatoes (about 1-1/2 pounds)

Make a layer of potato slices in the gratin dish, overlapping them slightly, like shingles.

Sprinkle with:
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper

Continue to layer the potato slices, seasoning each layer, until the potatoes are used up. You should have two or, at the most, three layers. Carefully pour over the potatoes:
1 cup milk

The liquid should come up to the bottom of the top layer of potatoes. Add more if necessary. Generously dot the top of the potatoes with:
3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Bake in a 350°F oven until browned and bubbling, about 1 hour. Halfway through the baking, take the gratin dish out of the oven and press the potatoes flat with a metal spatula to keep the top moist. Return to the oven and keep checking. The gratin is done when the potatoes are soft and the top is golden brown.

VARIATIONS
• Peel and smash a garlic clove and rub it all over the inside of the gratin dish before buttering it.
• Use duck fat instead of butter.
• Use heavy cream or a mixture of half-and-half and cream. Omit the butter.
• Substitute celery root, parsnip, or turnip slices for up to half the potatoes.
• Add chopped herbs such as thyme, parsley, chives, or chervil between the layers.
• Sauté mushrooms, sorrel, spinach, or leeks, and layer them between the potato slices.
• Sprinkle grated Gruyère or Parmesan cheese on each layer and sprinkle more on top for the last 15 minutes of baking.

Named the most influential figure in the past 30 years of the American kitchen by Gourmet magazine, Alice Waters is the owner of Chez Panisse restaurant and the author of nine cookbooks.

Buy The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution Amazon

Find other great recipes by Alice Waters on Recipes.it Great Chefs page:
- Baked Goat Cheese with Garden Lettuces
- Moroccan chicken with dates
- Pork Loin Stuffed with Wild Plums and Rosemary
- Roast Pork Loin with Rosemary and Fennel
- Potato Gratin
- Red and Golden Beets with Blood Orange, Endive, and Walnuts
- Zucchini Fritters
- Rasberry Jam
- Strawberry Sherbet
-Vin de pêche



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Summer Fun Recipes with Aerolatte FrothersAerolatte Frother Models

SUMMER FUN RECIPIES

 
Cappuccino is only one of the great coffee drinks that can be made with the aerolatte® frother. Explore a little and try these amazing Italian treats created by Marco Finocchiaro, Italian gourmet for aerolatte®.
All recipies and content Copyright 2008 Green Lane/aerolatte.
Banana and cinnamon milkshake© - hot or cold
The banana and cinnamon combination can be refreshing in summer or very warming in winter when made with hot milk. Make it with ¼ volume of banana purée to ¾ volume of milk (remembering to only fill the glass 1/3 full). Froth it with the aerolatte® frother into a smooth high foam and dust with cinnamon. It's delicious.
Caffè frappée© - in seconds
Remember that great holiday in Greece with the groovy little coffee frappées they served? With instant coffee, you can make a cold coffee frappée in seconds. Put one teaspoon of instant coffee in half a glass of cooled still water; add a drop of sugar if required and froth it up with the aerolatte® frother! Add a little bit of Irish cream liqueur with the instant coffee to make this a summer drink to remember.
Chocolate milk©
Regular drinking chocolate enters a new dimension with the aerolatte® frother. Use natural chocolate or cocoa - avoid using instant chocolate powders with emulsifiers, which do not froth well. Don't worry that normal drinking chocolate advises only to use hot milk - the aerolatte® frother will dispense the chocolate granules through the milk.

Fill your glass one third with fridge cold milk and add one or two small spoons of chocolate powder. Whisk together with the aerolatte® frother and you'll have the richest tasting chocolate drink. Try adding some orange liqueur to give it a whole new aspect. Can also be used with hot milk

Coffee milkshake© - in seconds
Of course, you can make a coffee milkshake very quickly with one regular small spoon of instant coffee into a high-sided glass. Fill the glass to a third of its height with fridge cold milk. Whisk it with the aerolatte® frother for a delicious smooth frothy coffee milkshake.
Fruit milkshakes© in less than a minute
The basic recipe for a fruit milkshake is to use two parts of chilled milk (the colder the better) to one part of cold fresh juice. Fill a tall glass or aerolatte® Shakes tumbler to a third of its volume. The aerolatte®will froth and expand the mixture up to the rim of the glass in less than a minute.
 
Sometimes, I add a small spoon of sugar to bring out the fruity taste - it's a matter of personal preference and has no impact on the "frothability" of the milk. These fruit juices make great shakes: lemon, orange, grape, honey melon, pineapple, banana, strawberry, wild berry, apple and pear. You can use almost any kind of fresh fruit - if it is puréed or liquidised before you add it to the cold milk. Using the aerolatte® frother is the simplest way to make a really delicious and healthy milkshake. Try using skimmed (0% fat) milk and puréed fruit for a great, fat-free, healthy treat.

Experiment and discover new tastes by using your favourite juices in different combinations, for a vitamin packed, health drink.

Honey milk©
Don't forget one of my personal favourites, a drink that always reminds me of sweet Summer days in Italy - honey milk. This healthy drink is given a new twist when prepared with the aerolatte® frother.
 
Put a small spoon of liquid honey in a high-sided glass, which is a third full of fridge chilled milk. Whisk with the aerolatte® to the rim. Take two amaretto cookies and finely crush them. Sprinkle these on top of the frothed milk.

You can also try this with hot milk as a wonderful winter warmer.

Mixed fruit milkshakes©

With a little extra effort you can combine different fruit juices. But remember to fill the tumbler to only a third of its height to allow for the drink to expand. Here are a few of the combinations I particularly like:

¼ of pear juice, ¼ peach juice and ½ ice cold milk
¼ of pear juice, ¼ cherry juice and ½ ice cold milk
¼ of strawberry juice, ¼ grape juice and ½ ice cold milk
¼ of orange juice, ¼ pineapple juice and ½ ice cold milk
¼ of pear juice, ¼ kiwi juice and ½ ice cold milk
¼ of peach juice, ¼ orange juice and ½ ice cold milk
1/5 honeydew melon, 1/5 pineapple juice, 1/5 papaya juice and 2/5 cold milk
1/6 papaya juice, 1/6 orange juice, 1/6 puréed banana and ½ cold milk

All recipies and content Copyright 2008 Green Lane/aerolatte