I've found so many recipes for Scalloped / Au Gratin potatoes that I decided to consolidate them on one page.
AND, regarding the difference between "Scalloped Potatoes" and "Potatoes Au Gratin": anything you hear is garbage. Supposedly "Scalloped Potatoes" don't have cheese but "Potatoes Au Gratin" does. However, in REAL LIFE the recipes are all over the place. ALL the recipes I've got that are called "Scalloped Potatoes" use cheese. There's so many variations in the recipes that anyone who tries to solemnly claim that "Au Gratin" potatoes are one way but "Scalloped" are a different way is a total idiot.
One last weird comment - many of the recipes include ground nutmeg, which is pretty common in recipes that use cream. I always omit it. To me, nutmeg in dishes with lots of cream makes it taste like someone dumped eggnog over it.
Here's an index to the recipes:
Scalloped Potatoes & Ham (Ree Drummond)
Classic Rich and Silky Potato Gratin (Scalloped Potatoes) Recipe (Serious Eats)
Creamy Scalloped Potatoes (Martha Stewart)
Potatoes Dauphinoise (Martha Stewart)
Au Gratin Potatoes
Hasselback Potato Gratin
Recipe courtesy of Ree Drummond
NOTE: From FoodNetwork. This was really good but I made several changes to it, explained below under "Comments".
Ingredients
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, plus extra for greasing dish
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
2 pounds russet potatoes peeled
3 cups diced cooked ham (about 1-1/2 lbs untrimmed, 1 lb after trimming)
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh parsley, for sprinkling, optional
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Add the butter and onions to a large skillet over medium heat and saute until starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and whisk them together. Continue cooking the onion/flour mixture until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cream and milk and whisk around, allowing the mixture to thicken; this will take 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, stir the sauce, reduce the heat and keep warm.
2. Slice the potatoes really thin using a mandolin or a really sharp knife, the thinner the better. Generously butter a 3-quart baking dish, then add half the sliced potatoes and half the diced ham. Sprinkle on half the cheese then pour on half the sauce from the skillet. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients, ending with a layer of cheese and sauce. Sprinkle extra pepper on top.
3. Cover the dish with foil and bake it for 50 minutes, then remove the foil and bake until the cheese is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling, an additional 30 to 40 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley if desired and serve it up.
Comments: This was really good but I made several changes:
1) Original recipe called for 1-1/2 cups each of milk and half-and-half. I never have half-and-half but I always have heavy cream, so I switched to 2 cups milk and 1 cup heavy cream.
2) Original recipe doesn't use salt when making the sauce. On top of that, a lot of comments said the sauce was too bland and wondered what could be done. Some people are so dumb.Thank God we seem to be reaching the end of the era in which salt is considered the kiss of death.
3) Original recipe doesn't call for peeling the potatoes, which is rather odd, but I did it anyway.
4) Original recipe calls for monterey jack cheese. I used sharp cheddar; the ham I had was exremely flavorful and I was afraid it would drown out the jack cheese.
5) Original recipe says to use a 2-quart casserole. I have absolutely no idea how she possibly managed to fit this into a 2-quart; for me, one layer of potatoes and ham almost completely filled up my 2-quart. It was obvious another layer would never fit so I moved it all to my three-quart, which was barely large enough. There's absolutely no way this recipe would fit into a 2-quart casserole. Someday I'll have to watch this episode; I suspect she wasn't really using 2 lbs of potatoes.
I like how they came right out and admitted in the title that "Gratin" and "Scalloped" are the same thing. Haven't tried it as of this writing but it looks good. They emphasize the top of the Au Gratin believing it's the best part, and they use Gruyere cheese. I've really come to like that cheese a lot. As I often do, I've saved the recipe as a PDF:
Potatoes Au Gratin (Scalloped) SE
I've made it, it's good. Makes quite a lot.
Ingredients
1 clove garlic, lightly smashed and peeled
Unsalted butter, room temperature, for pan
4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (8 medium)
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon lightly packed fresh thyme leaves
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6 ounces Gruyere, coarsely grated (2 1/4 cups)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rub the bottom and sides of a 3-quart baking dish with garlic; reserve garlic. Brush pan generously with butter. Peel potatoes, then cut into 1/8-inch-thick rounds.
2. Transfer potatoes and garlic to a large pot with cream, milk, thyme, 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil over high. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 1 minute. Let cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
3. Spoon one-third of potato mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle with one-third of cheese. Repeat layering twice more. Loosely cover dish with parchment-lined foil.
4. Bake until potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove foil; turn oven to broil. Broil until potatoes are bubbly and browned in places, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.
It's not called "Scalloped" or "Au Gratin" but it looks just like the others so I'm including it on this page. One note in passing, I probably wouldn't use the nutmeg - for me, nutmeg in dishes with lots of cream always end up tasting like egg nog was poured over it.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
4 ounces Gruyere cheese
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in middle position. Spread butter across bottom and sides of a 2-quart baking dish.
2. Peel potatoes and slice 1/8 inch thick. Place slices in a large bowl of cold water and drain thoroughly.
3. Bring heavy cream, milk, and garlic to a simmer in a large, wide saucepan. Add potatoes, salt, and pepper and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, 20 minutes.
4. Using a slotted spoon, transfer half the potatoes to prepared baking dish and sprinkle with half of the cheese. Add remaining potatoes to baking dish and pour enough cream mixture over potatoes to just cover. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, place on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until bubbly and golden brown on top, 40 to 45 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and grate nutmeg over top just before serving.
This one is desribed as pretty richly decadent. I haven't tried it and I'm a little suspicious. It uses 3 cups of onions, 3 cups of cream and 6 large eggs - but only 5 "medium" potatoes?
Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups chopped yellow onions
¼ tsp paprika
6 large eggs
3 cups heavy or whipping cream
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
salt, to taste
5 medium all-purpose potatoes
2 cups (8 oz) shredded Oaxaca or Chihuahua cheese
edible flowers and/or fresh basil leaves and sprigs, optional
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally. Stir in paprika.
2. Meanwhile, in large bowl, with whisk, beat eggs, cream, pepper and salt until well combined. Peel and thinly slice potatoes; add potatoes to egg mixture and stir until well coated.
3. Set aside ½ cup cheese. In 2½-quart metal, glass or ceramic baking pan, layer half of potatoes, then half of remaining cheese and half of onions; repeat layering. Sprinkle reserved ½ cup cheese evenly on top. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil. Bake 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender when knife is inserted in center.
Combine a potato gratin with Hasselback roast potatoes for the ultimate creamy-in-the-middle, crispy-on-top casserole.
Note: because of variation in the shape of potatoes, the amount of potato that will fit into a single casserole dish varies. Longer, thinner potatoes will fill a dish more than shorter, rounder potatoes. When purchasing potatoes, buy a few extra in order to fill the dish if necessary. Depending on exact shape and size of potatoes and casserole dish, you may not need all of the cream mixture.
Ingredients
3 ounces finely grated Gruyère or comté cheese
2 ounces finely grated Parmigiano-reggiano
2 cups heavy cream
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 3 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8th-inch thick on a mandoline slicer (5 to 6 medium, see note above)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Combine cheeses in a large bowl. Transfer 1/3 of cheese mixture to a separate bowl and set aside. Add cream, garlic, and thyme to cheese mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add potato slices and toss with hands until every slice is coated with cream mixture, making sure to separate any slices that are sticking together to get the cream mixture in between them.
2. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish with butter. Pick up a handful of potatoes, organizing them into a neat stack, and lay them in the casserole dish with their edges aligned vertically. Continue placing potatoes in casserole, working around the perimeter and into the center until all potatoes have been added. Potatoes should be very tightly packed. If necessary, slice additional potato, coat with cream mixture, and add to casserole (see note above). Pour excess cream/cheese mixture evenly over potatoes until the mixture comes half way up the sides of the casserole. You may not need all excess liquid (see note above).
3. Cover tightly with foil and transfer to oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until top is pale golden brown, about 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and return to oven. Bake until deep golden brown and crisp on top, about 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven, let rest for a few minutes, and serve.
