Adventures in Cookbooking -- Week 4

This week the girl "picked out" the recipe. Really, she wasn't all that interested. So many things to do in her almost-eight-year-old life. I was looking for a side dish this week.

Now that I'm really looking at my cookbooks, I wonder why I have some that I have. This week's book is called A Passion for Potatoes. It's a book where all of the recipes have potatoes of one form or another in them. Including desserts.

Back to the side dish. The recipe this week was Potatoes Gratin with Onions and Beer. See how perhaps the girl was led to this one. It's a pretty straight-forward gratin. Only the liquid is beer instead of cream or milk. I used a mandoline for the potatoes. (Indispensable kitchen item) The potatoes rest in the beer while the onions are caramelized. Then the onion, potato, and cheese are layered in a dish. The beer and potato starch are poured over the top. The whole thing gets baked for 1 1/2 hours.

It smelled great while it was baking. The verdict: good for the adults, not so good for the kids. The beer flavor was just too pronounced. I think it would be great for an adult barbeque. I'm not rushing out to make it again. Ah well.

Side note: I have a convection oven that I hate. Every time I try to use it, it takes longer than the stated cooking time. That isn't supposed to happen! I started this recipe in the oven and had to switch it to the convection. The top started burning almost right away. Anyone use one of these ovens with more success?

Here's the full pan.



A close up of the burnt top.



A serving of the potatoes.



Not the best choice this week. Ah well. There's always another cookbook and another week.