< Previous240 T H E S P I R I T O F T H E H E R B FA R M R E S TAU R A N TTHE S P I R I T O F T H E H E R B FA R M R E S TAU R A N T 241 2 lb Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled (or not, your choice) 4 Tbsp Unsalted butter ½ Yellow onion, peeled and minced 1 Bay leaf, ideally fresh 4 6" sprigs fresh rosemary 1½ cups Half-and-half ½ cup Sour cream 2 cloves Garlic, minced (about one tablespoon) ⅛ tsp Cayenne pepper or 10 or 12 drops of Tabasco®. A pinch of pepper flakes are also nice. 2½ tsp Salt ½ tsp Black pepper 1 8" × 10" baking dish or equivalent Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt the butter in a 4-quart saucepan. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add the rosemary and bay leaf. Sauté the herbs in the butter for 1 minute. Do not allow the onion to brown. Add half-and-half. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let the herbs infuse their flavor while you prep the potatoes (10–15 minutes). Peel the potatoes. Slice in half lengthwise. Then slice each half crosswise in ⅛" slices. Do not rinse or place in water! Remove the bay leaf and two of the rosemary sprigs. Strip the needles from the remaining two rosemary sprigs and leave the needles in the infused half-and-half. Return the pan to the heat. Bring to a simmer. Add the garlic, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Stir in the sour cream. Add potatoes and cook over medium-low heat, stirring potatoes carefully, until the liquid thickens and the potatoes are softened and partially cooked, about 10 minutes. Spoon the potatoes and sauce into a buttered baking dish, pressing on the potatoes to smooth the top. Wipe the inside rim of the dish to clean the exposed edge. Add a couple of tablespoons more of half-and-half if the top potatoes are not mostly covered and moist. Place in oven and bake for about 45 minutes until the top is medium brown and little crusty pieces have formed at the pan edge. Cool 20–30 minutes before cutting. Ron’s Best Rosemary and Bay Leaf Yukon Gold Potato Gratin Serves 8 I ’m an unrepentant potato nut. There are two “tricks” when making this dish. First, we pack flavor into it by first steeping the herbs in the simmering dairy before adding the potatoes. To save time, prepare the flavored dairy first while you go about prepping the potatoes and the other ingredients. Secondly, when you cut the potatoes, each slice frees some of the potato’s starch. Don’t wash the slices! This potato starch dramatically thickens the dairy when you precook the sliced potatoes in the herb-infused dairy. Then, as it bakes in the oven, the slices will come together, creating a rich and unctuous dish. These potatoes taste even better the second day!240 T H E S P I R I T O F T H E H E R B FA R M R E S TAU R A N TTHE S P I R I T O F T H E H E R B FA R M R E S TAU R A N T 241 Scoop Large spoon Wedge Knife & then spatula Square Knive & move with spatula Circle Pastry punch or cookie cutterNext >