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What Is The Best Potato For Baking? - Yahoo Recipe Search
Food52My mama was a good cook -- not a great cook, but a perfectly adequate one -- until she crossed into the realm of pastries, sweets and baking. And then she was phenomenal. She was known for her cakes and pies, her cookies and candies (chocolate cherry cordials, popcorn balls), and her party fare of petit fours, candied fruit, lemon tarts. But all of them....well, maybe except for the blackberry cobbler and the chess pie...pale beside the potato doughnuts. She'd start them on a Friday night, and finish them on Saturday morning, when the aroma would wake me and I'd float back to the kitchen in the wake of my nose to find a plate of hot, freshly glazed doughnut holes and a tall glass of cold milk. Heaven! She made them with a three-inch biscuit cutter than had an attachment you inserted to cut out the holes, which she'd fry separately and let them get barely crispy on the outside, with the interior lighter than air; the doughnuts were wonderful, but the holes were sublime. After Mama died, I was going through some of her things in the kitchen, and I found the grease-spotted, dog-eared index card with her doughnut recipe, handwriting faded with time. I sat in the middle of the kitchen floor and wept. And then I got up, found the biscuit cutter and the attachment, and made doughnuts. Mama left me many legacies in many ways, but when I think of her in the kitchen, this is what comes to mind.YummlyThis potatoes au gratin recipe is a savory staple to have in your side dish repertoire. Made with sliced potatoes in a creamy sauce, these au gratin potatoes are then covered with a generous layer of Manchego cheese and baked until melted and golden on top. Savory, creamy, and cheesy, these potatoes pair wonderfully with steak or pork, roasted vegetables, or a big green salad. This dish is incredibly versatile and goes well with just about anything. It's the ultimate comfort food — a true crowd pleaser. This recipe makes a perfect side dish for weeknight dinners or to serve on a special occasion, such as with a roast for your Christmas feast or with ham for Easter dinner! The best part? This tasty potato recipe has a much shorter cook time than many traditional gratin potatoes recipes due to an untraditional tool — the microwave! This elegant yet easy recipe can be on the table in less than an hour. With just 15 minutes of active prep time, it can even be assembled in advance and cooked later. All you have to do is prepare the recipe as directed, then cover it tightly with plastic wrap, store in the refrigerator, and cook fully before serving. ## What Is The Au Gratin Cooking Method? While "au gratin" sounds fancy, it's actually not complicated at all. In fact, “to gratinée" means simply to give a dish a golden-brown top. Since many au gratin dishes call for lots of cheese, some people think that the term is French for “with cheese.” However, you don't necessarily need to use cheese. Whether made with cheese, breadcrumbs, or both, browning happens during the cooking process and can be accelerated by passing the dish under a broiler. ## Potatoes Au Gratin Vs. Scalloped Potatoes You may be wondering about the difference between scalloped potatoes and au gratin potatoes. They’re very similar, and in fact, many people use the names interchangeably. You may see variations in recipes: some use onions, while others use shallots; some use Gruyere cheese, and others use cheddar cheese. Don't get hung up on the name, and choose a recipe that sounds good to you! The results are basically the same: sliced potatoes cradled in a creamy sauce. ## Variations Have fun with this recipe! Make it your own with some of these delicious options: _Use different cheeses._ If you prefer a sharper flavor, try a sharp cheddar cheese or gruyere cheese. You can even sprinkle in parmesan cheese or try provolone for a milder flavor. There's no rule on just how cheesy your potatoes can be! _Use a variety of potatoes._ This dish calls for russet potatoes, which are mealy potatoes with a high starch content that are excellent for baking. For something different, try red potatoes — waxy potatoes with a low starch content that hold their shape well during cooking. You could also try a Yukon gold potato, which has properties of both waxy and mealy potatoes. _Add vegetables._ Boost the nutrition of this dish — and add a new dimension of flavor — by adding onions, turnips, or carrots. Roast the vegetables ahead of time, then layer in with the potatoes. You can also add fresh herbs such as parsley, oregano, or basil. _Add meat._ Diced ham, ground beef, or sliced bacon would all be great additions to this dish. Fully cook the meat ahead of time, then add into the potatoes and prepare as the recipe directs. _Thicken the sauce._ If you'd prefer a thicker cream sauce, add 2-3 Tbsp. of all-purpose flour to the whipping cream. _Substitute heavy cream._ Another way to slightly thicken the sauce is to swap heavy cream for whipping cream. They're very similar, but whipping cream is slightly lighter — it has about 6% less fat than heavy cream. _Top with breadcrumbs._ if you want to add extra texture to this dish, sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top of the potatoes and cheese before cooking. You don't need much, just a light layer will work. Never make potatoes au gratin from the box again now that you have this recipe!YummlySimple marinade. Flavorful chops. Your next favorite pork recipe is made with Italian salad dressing! Use a store-bought brand or homemade dressing for this easy grilling recipe. It's perfect for either a cozy Sunday supper or a quick weeknight dinner. For a casual meal, serve with potato salad, salad, and rolls, or opt for an elegant meal of Italian pork chops, green beans, mashed potatoes, and rustic Italian bread. If it's not grilling weather, a grill pan on the stovetop will do the trick. If this is your first foray into pork chops, there are a few things you should know before you get started — but don't let that intimidate you! We've all been beginners and trust us, chops are easy to work with. ### Bone-In Pork Chops Vs Boneless Pork Chops Pork chops are cut from the loin. If you're looking at the body of a pig, it's the meat that you would get from the back. Lengthwise, it lies between the shoulder and the leg (where we get ham), and crosswise it only extends to where the belly (where we get bacon!) begins. This is where we get rib chops — that's probably what you think of when you hear "pork chops." They have the curved bone that runs along the meat. Boneless pork chops are just rib chops without the bone. Boneless chops aren't quite as flavorful as the bone-in chops because there's less fat and connective tissue, but they're both delicious. ### Cooking With Chops We love our grilled pork chops, but pork chops can be baked or thrown into a slow cooker for that set-it-and-forget-it technique that saves us a few headaches when we're planning meals. Here are a few tips for each method. ## Slow Cooker Pork Chops There are dozens of awesome slow cooker recipes to try but the slow cooker may not be the best way to cook pork chops — the pork shoulder is a better cut for slow cooking but that doesn't mean you can't do an overnight marinade with your chops before gently cooking them on low for a few hours (depending on the recipe you are using). However, make sure you brown the meat before you toss it in the fun cooker. ## Baked Pork Chops This dinner recipe works well for baking if you don't have access to a grill. It's best if you sear the chops on the stovetop first and then finish them in the preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 minutes and the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit. ### Other Types Of Dressings To Use While this dish uses Italian-style salad dressing, you can apply this method using other types of dressings (except for dairy-based dressings). For a sweet and spicy Asian pork chop, use an Asian dressing like sesame ginger, or Teriyaki.