With Thanksgiving looming on the near horizon, I’ve been tweaking recipes for holiday sides and trying to balance family traditions with new recipes to shake things up a bit. I was a bit enamored with the potato-leek soup I posted last week, so much so that I enjoyed it for breakfast for four days straight. In an effort to confirm that leeks and potatoes are in fact best friends I baked this gratin. I am happy to report that it was delicious and that leeks and potatoes should be combined whenever possible. Now onto the contest!
thanksgiving contest:
With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I thought it would be fun to hear about your holiday stories, cooking experiences, questions, tips, and ideas. For those of you with a bit of a writer’s block (happens to me all the time) here are some jumping off points:
- Do you cook the same thing every year or do you like to try new recipes?
- Any Thanksgiving success stories or misses?
- Fun tips or ideas?
- Favorite memories?
- Do you order take-out for Thanksgiving?
All you have to do is share a note in the comment section below to enter to win a treat in the mail. Easy as that.
So what’s the prize? One of my favorite cookbooks from my library - Biba Caggiano’s Italy al Dente. A cookbook I have used for inspiration many times, it is loaded with recipes for pasta, risotto, gnocchi, and polenta - perfect for the cool winter nights ahead. I picked up this cookbook at a used bookstore in Berkeley, so it is a little loved (with a note from someone’s grandma), but I always find the best cookbooks are passed along with a bit of wear.
I’ll be picking the winner at random on Thursday, 11/20. If you get the big prize, I will notify you by email.
So please share your stories and definitely try out this gratin recipe!
For this recipe I like to slice the potatoes as I build the dish, which prevents them from browning. If you prefer to prep all of ingredients ahead of time, it would be best to keep the peeled and sliced potatoes in water and then pat them dry before building the gratin.
Potato Leek Gratin
(serves 6 as side dish)
- 3 cups cream
- sea salt
- fresh ground black pepper
- small pinch of nutmeg
- 2 leeks
- 2 tablespoons butter (divided)
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled
- 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 tablespoon butter, softened
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Bring the cream up to a slight simmer (enough so it is slightly warm) in a saucepan set over medium-low heat. Add a pinch of sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, and nutmeg. Stir to combine.
Remove the root and dark green parts of the leek and discard. Slice the leek in half lengthwise to create a half moon. Place the sliced leeks in a colander and rinse to remove any dirt & debris (leeks tend to accrue quite a bit of dirt). Dry with a towel. Set a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the leeks and saute until they have softened, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the leeks from the heat to cool.
Check on your cream to ensure that it is still at a gentle simmer and slightly warm.
Rub the inside of a baking dish with the garlic clove (I like to use a 10″ round baking dish). Smear the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter along the bottom and sides of the dish. Add a bit of the warm cream to the bottom of the dish, just enough to thinly cover the bottom of the dish. Peel and thinly slice a potato (about 1/8 inch) and arrange on the bottom of the baking dish so they overlap a little bit. Top with a handful of the leeks and a handful of the grated cheese, then cover with the warm cream. Repeat the process until you have used up your ingredients or you reach the top of your baking dish. I like to finish the top of the gratin with a good dose of leeks so they get nice and crispy.
Bake in the oven for 30 - 45 minutes or until the top of the gratin is golden brown and the potatoes are creamy and soft.
more seasonal gratin recipes:
101 Cookbooks: Spanish Rice Gratin
subscribe by email
follow sue on
twitter
subscribe in a reader
{ 1 trackback }
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Amy 11.18.08 at 9:04 am
Ooh, fun! (and the gratin looks great, too!)
One of the things I love most about thanksgiving is probably the thing that other people don’t particularly enjoy…planning out my menu, figuring out what can be made ahead, when dishes have to be timed in what way so that everything is ready for the big meal all at once. I love feeling like everything is working like clockwork. Growing up, we usually had the same dishes, but now that I’m starting to cook t’giving dinners of my own, I *love* trying a few new ideas each year.
[Reply]
Stacy 11.18.08 at 9:36 am
Last Thanksgiving I did all the cooking myself for the first time. Since there were just four of us for dinner, I decided a turkey might be a little too much, so I instead I made four cornish game hens…the prep time was way less, it was delicious, and word on the street is they’re better for you anyway.
I also used a couscous stuffing instead of the standard kind, which was awesome because the couscous totally absorbed the flavor of everything around it (apple, onion, celery, pecans, dried cranberries). It was fun to have food that was still in the the Thanksgiving vein, but a little different than the standard turkey/stuffing/mashed potatoes.
[Reply]
Haley 11.18.08 at 10:05 am
I have many fond memories of my father’s whole family getting together for the holidays at my grandparent’s house. I was still very young, but I remember that the food was really amazing. I always looked forward to it. Pies and turkey and mashed potatoes…
Now, twenty years on, my grandparents have both passed on. My father’s family really doesn’t talk anymore. The kids have all grown up. I only recently learned the truth behind the Thanksgiving feast - Boston Market. Evidently my grandmother was an awful cook. She couldn’t even heat soup properly!
Although I might have been happier without this little piece of truth, I still strive to make the holidays something to remember.
[Reply]
Kristin at The Kitchen Sink 11.18.08 at 10:09 am
Wow — that gratin looks incredible. Great color and I’m sure it’s unbelievably delicious.
As for Thanksgiving, I am dying to cook my own dinner one of these years, but for now, we trade off going to my husband’s family dinner and mine.
A recurring joke at my family’s Thanksgiving revolves around “how many people does it take to whack open a rutebaga (pureed, it’s a standard dish for our family Thanksgiving)?” The answer depends on the year, but it has climbed close to the double digits!
[Reply]
Dana 11.18.08 at 10:38 am
Love the gratin - leeks are a very under appreciated vegetable!
My favorite Thanksgiving story comes from several years ago. The weather in Seattle in November is almost always awful with lots of rain and windstorms. My parents used to host Thanksgiving and at the time, they lived in a house surrounded by trees. Every year my mom would stress about the power possibly going out and for 20 years, it never did. Then one year, just after everything had been heated in the oven and we were about to sit down for dinner, the power did go out. It was a lovely meal, sitting around the table in candlelight and eating all the delicious food.
When it came time for pumpkin pie, we realized that we were going to have to whip the cream without the trusty KitchenAid mixer, so my brother and a friend took turns doing it the old fashioned way - with a whisk and a copper bowl.
To this day, for both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, my brother and this friend do the whisking by hand. This is the first year that my husband and I will be hosting the dinner and I need to go buy a copper bowl to keep the tradition going!
[Reply]
Sue Bette 11.18.08 at 10:45 am
Hi Amy - wow! sounds like you enjoy the hardest part of the gig!
Hi Stacy - the game hens are a great idea I might have to give those a try for a post this December!
Hi Haley - I am sure you are not alone - I have a funny feeling a lot of take-out gets disguised as home cooking - I can’t blame people it can be a lot of work! I hope you enjoy your holiday!
Hi Kristin - so it must be a pass the rutebaga around kind of thing - great memories!
Hi Dana - what a great story! I bet you were psyched that dinner was ready when the power went down - I think the whisking is a great tradition but I am glad I don’t have that job! Good luck with your first year hosting!!
[Reply]
Dara 11.18.08 at 9:05 pm
As a personal chef I know I should really have a fabulous recipe or a family favorite to share here. But truly, my favorite part about Thanksgiving (when we stay here in San Francisco to be with my family) is the Thanksgiving tablecloth. It’s a simple white linen table cloth that we’ve been using for the past ten years. After the Thanksgiving meal we clear away the dishes and put out permanent pens in a few different colors and ask everyone in attendance to either sign their name or write something of their choosing. I love reading through the names and the expressions of gratitude and remembering all the wonderful times we’ve had over the years.
[Reply]
grace 11.19.08 at 3:31 am
even the thought of ordering take-out on thanksgiving makes me sad! no matter what we end up eating (it tends to be the same thing each year–turkey, green beans, sweet potato casserole, and baked apples are the staples), it’s always prepared with love and care by me and my family members…and we always eat way too much of it in one sitting.
lovely gratin, by the way. perhaps it’s time to add to our typical spread…
[Reply]
Jean Gogolin 11.19.08 at 5:33 am
Take-out for Thanksgiving? Buy the pies?? Horrors. I love all the cooking and start planning way ahead. I make most of the standards (no little marshmallows, though) but I always have to include Brussels sprouts because my husband and daughter love them, and a potato/turnip puree because my kids remember that from their grandmother’s dinners. I also add some new things. This year the whole family is coming and it’ll be happy chaos.
[Reply]
Kalyn 11.19.08 at 5:40 am
Sounds like a great cookbook! Our family always has turkey for Thanksgiving, but the last few years I’ve tried at least one new thing each year. I think the roasted green beans with shallots or the roasted brussels sprouts with parmesan would be two of our favorite new things. We sometimes buy the pie, unless my sister Sandee makes them, but otherwise all homemade!
[Reply]
TexasDeb 11.19.08 at 6:08 am
This year is the first year we won’t have both grown kids at table for Thanksgiving. I was stressing a bit, trying to plan a menu for just the 3 of us with my son, who is a chef, and he essentially told me his idea of a dream feast will be one where he does not have to plan or prep or cook anything but rather has it prepared with love for him. Past that he said he really doesn’t care if it is all tradition, all new, or a combination of both.
I decided I will prep a combination of old/new dishes, but will save one traditional Thanksgiving favorite pie - pecan - for when my other child is back in town for Christmas.
That way we can celebrate a bit of Thanksgiving together - albeit a month later.
[Reply]
kerri 11.19.08 at 6:42 am
My favorite part of Thanksgiving, (besides ofcourse my whole family spending the day together); is a cranberry relish someone in my family makes every year. Originally I believe my great uncle made it and I thnik it’s was a recipe he grew up with in North Carolina. He passed away a few years ago, and others in the family have kept the tradition going. My mouth is watering right now just thinking of the perfect Thanksgiving bite; turkey, mashed potato, stuffing topping with Uncle Leonard’s cranberry relish!
[Reply]
ann marie 11.19.08 at 7:44 am
Except for the occassional year away from home, Thanksgiving has always been spent at my parents house with my mother doing the cooking. Although it is a huge effort due to our large family, my mother has always done it with joy. So, for me, Thanksgiving is a traditional feast that myself, husband and children always look forward to. Well - last year my parents went on a European vacation only to arrive home shortly before Thursday. So, with that in mind, my mother broke with tradtion and had dinner catered. ( I am sure she made a few things with the rest of us bringing the tradtional desserts….) Anyway, although the dinner was delecious, it was not Mom’s, and her home did NOT smell Thanksgiving-ish due to the lack of the roasting turkey, etc. So, for me Thanksgiving is as much about the SMELLS as it is the TASTES. I am hopefully fully recovered from the LACK of tradtitional smells I had to endure last year ’cause MOM is back in the kitchen this year!!
[Reply]
Sue Bette 11.19.08 at 7:58 am
Hi Dara - I love the tablecloth idea - what a cool tradition!!
Hi Grace - your Thanksgiving sounds perfect - and I don’t think I’ve had the sweet potato casserole so I might have to give that a try this year!
Hi Jean - best of luck with the happy chaos, I am a fellow brussels sprouts fan and I just threw together a great batch with bacon, butter, and roasted pecans
Hi Kalyn - it sounds like brussels sprouts are the hot item this year! We have pie makers in my family too, I might be most thankful for that because my baking skills are not top notch.
Hi TexasDeb - as someone who has missed the last couple of Thanksgivings because of distance I am sure your son will appreciate saving your Thanksgiving pie this Christmas! And as someone who works in the food industry I KNOW your other son will appreciate everything since he gets to sit back and relax for a change!
Hi Kerri - I’d love to see Uncle Leonard’s recipe if your family would like to share!
Hi Ann Marie - I think you are totally right about the smells of Thanksgiving, I just hosted a practice run with friends and the aromas in the house brought back tons of memories. Best wishes on a smelly and happy Thanksgiving this year!!
[Reply]
Trish 11.19.08 at 8:02 am
Two Thanksgivings ago, my partner and I went to Mendocino for the holiday and had an amazing vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner at The Ravens (we were both vegetarians at the time). I have to say, though, I have come to love Thanksgiving even more since I started eating meat and get to enjoy the turkey!
[Reply]
Meredith 11.19.08 at 5:03 pm
Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. There’s no religious hype, no reindeer, no fluffy bunny with eggs, no cupid or hallmark coined images or phrases, no pressure of giving the perfect gift or faking that you’ve just received it. It’s all about appreciation of what you have right in front of you, which if you are lucky is group of great people and a large spread of food. My traditional Thanksgiving was spent at my parents house in New England with my three siblings, nana and sometimes some additional people aunts, uncles, cousins and significant others. My mom always did all the cooking and it was my job to entertain my nana. This meant writing out all of her Christmas cards and then playing cards for quarters as she smoked one Winston after another. Despite the cigarette smoke and the fact that my mom always either burnt or forgot the rolls, I always had a lot to be thankful for.
This will be my third thanksgiving away from home. Two years ago it was spent on Kauai. There was no turkey but I had plenty to be thankful for (ahhh new love and a beautiful island to explore). Upon returning home we did make a turkey and it was the first time I ever made cranberry sauce from scratch. It was so easy and so much better then the canned stuff my mom served! Last year I was in San Francisco the day started off with a turkey trot through Golden Gate Park and ended with way more food then two people could possibly eat. This year I’ll be in Portland. I was so excited about T-day in Portland that I had the whole day planned almost 3 months ago even down to the farm I would get the turkey from. I had to everything in my power to not order the turkey in September unfortunately I waited to long and they had sold out of turkeys when I finally did call. I was able to order one from somewhere else and here’s the menu thus far: Turkey with porcini mushroom sauce (adapted from last years Bon Appetit), sweet potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, greens (TBD) and apple pie cups (from eggs on sunday) with vanilla ice cream. For a while I considered bring the ice cream maker with us but decided it would be more of a hassle then its worth, or would it?
I know we’ll have way more turkey then we’ll need so if anyone has any fun recipes to use up leftover turkey please let me know.
[Reply]
Sue Bette 11.20.08 at 3:33 am
Hi Trish - the vegetarian thanksgiving sounds great! But I can understand how a little meat and gravy can be something to look forward too!
Hi Meredith - what a great story - I love the piece about the cigarettes! It sounds like you have a really nice array of Thanksgiving memories to choose from and I am sure this years trip to Portland will make some more - enjoy the trip and good luck with the Turkey!!
[Reply]
lara 11.20.08 at 5:38 am
Our family was never that into thanksgiving… some years we would have a dinner; some years we wouldnt. it was always based on our availability. so a few years ago i started volunteering at thanksgiving community food programs instead. i have gained so much in return - it is such a family oriented holiday - and to be able to ease the loneliness of people who no longer have contact with their own has been a blessing to me. a few children later, my parents are now keen to celebrate thanksgiving regularly… but never on the day i am volunteering.
i urge all your readers to donate either their time or money this thanksgiving; and help change the lives of those less fortunate.
[Reply]
Tiffany 11.22.08 at 8:12 am
First of all, the potato leek gratin sounds delicious. I’m a big fan of the combination too.
I’m a little late on the take-up for your contest, but that’s okay. Growing up, my family usually celebrated Thanksgiving at a nice restaurant. My parents aren’t really into the cooking and clean-up. I think that given the experience of dining out as a child, I especially enjoy home cooked Thanksgivings now. Since we usually are guests at my in-laws, I like to make the side dishes or desserts. My father-in-law is a huge fan of candied sweet potatoes, so I always make them. I like to try new desserts. This year I will be making a chocolate torte with a pomegranate jelly– I can’t wait!
[Reply]