Circle B Kitchen Mashed Potato Gratin

Just in case you haven't totally committed yourself to a Christmas dinner menu, here's a little gem of a side dish that you might want to consider.  I can personally attest to the delicious nature of these potatoes, mostly because the recipe is one of my own that I'm pretty partial to (dangling participle foul. Sorry.).  But Honestly, this is one of my favorite side dishes owing to the aforementioned deliciousness and also how much easier they are to make than say, scalloped potatoes.  

And in addition to being super scrumptious, these potatoes are pretty versatile, in that you can make them in one big pan or individual ramekins.  You can use whatever herbs you dearly love and you could use different kinds of cheeses, although I might encourage to make this with the goat cheese and the Gruyere first time around.  Just, you know, to experience firsthand how groovy these flavors are.

Then, if you want to switch up the cheeses, you could most definitely do that. Other cheeses that I think would work in here are provolone, manchego and asiago. You could also swap out the goat cheese for another soft cheese.  But now I'm getting uncomfortable.  I fear we've veered so far now from the original that I'm getting nervous and twitchy.  So don't do that. 

But, really, I have to let you go and be your wonderfully creative self in the kitchen, right?  OK, then, I'll work on that.  But maybe you could try it as written just once.  You'd do that for me, right?  I think you'll agree that it's pretty amazing stuff.  After that, you just swap and sub and make it your own.  Just don't tell me about it, OK?  Here's the recipe...

P.S. Just kidding... I'd love to hear about your own personal renditions of our beloved gratin.  I promise. No issues here.

Circle B Kitchen Mashed Potato Gratin

Click here for a printable recipe

Serves 6-8

2 pounds of small Yukon Gold potatoes
2 oz goat cheese
2 oz finely grated Gruyere cheese, plus more for topping
3 tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs such as chives, parsley, sage)
½ cup buttermilk,
¼ cup whole milk
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Boil the potatoes until just done (a knife will slip easily into the center), drain and return the potatoes to the warm pan.  Cover the pan with a clean dish towel and let the potatoes steam until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.

Using a paring knife, peel the skins off the potatoes (or you can leave them on if you would like a more rustic dish).  Return the potatoes to the pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 2-quart baking dish or 10 6-oz individual ramekins with nonstick cooking spray.

Mash the potatoes, adding in the butter, buttermilk and milk until the potatoes have a smooth, creamy consistency.  Stir in the goat cheese and the gruyere cheese, along with the herbs, salt and pepper and mix well.

Turn the potatoes into a 2-quart baking dish (or individual ramekins) that have been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Sprinkle the top with a little more gruyere cheese and bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the potatoes are heated through. If using individual ramekins, they may be done sooner than that, so check them after 15 minutes.

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