A layered potato casserole, a gratin (pronounced grah-TAN) is a French dish named for both the technique and the dish it’s baked in: a fairly shallow, oval, oven-safe baking dish. Nonetheless, you can make it in a standard 9-by-13-inch baking dish, more in keeping with standard American cookware. Here’s a perfect version for your holiday table: a side dish that just may even conquer the main course!
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces shallots, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons stemmed thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated or ground mace
3 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup low-fat or fat-free cream
1. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Peel and thinly slice the potatoes. Place the slices in a bowl, cover with cool water and set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Add the shallots, carrot, zucchini and peas. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, thyme, salt, pepper and mace. Stir well to warm through. Remove from the heat.
5. Layer the potatoes and vegetable mixture in a 10-cup gratin or 9-by-13-inch baking dish by first blotting some potato slices on a paper towel, then layering them across the bottom of the dish. Add some of the vegetable mixture, spread it over the slices, then blot dry more slices and add them as another layer. Keep layering the casserole, like a lasagna, ending with a layer of potato slices.
6. Whisk the broth and cream in a large bowl. Pour it over the contents of the baking dish.
7. Bake, uncovered, basting occasionally, until it is golden and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 2 hours.
Yield: Makes about eight side-dish servings.
{http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/08/health/20101108_thanksgiving.html#42}
Use the fragrant cheese stuffing with any mild vegetable, such as bell peppers, mushroom caps, baby eggplant or tomatoes. Save the scooped-out zucchini pulp for risotto or pasta sauce. You can use a mini chopper to chop the herbs quickly, but do not use it to combine the mousse ingredients because it will liquefy the ricotta.
6 small zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Cooking spray
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
1 cup (8 ounces) ricotta cheese
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese or other hard cheese
2 tablespoons hot water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Parsley sprigs (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell. Reserve pulp for another use. Arrange zucchini shells in a single layer in a 13 by 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
3. Combine basil and next 7 ingredients (through pepper), stirring well with a whisk. Divide mixture evenly among shells, pressing gently. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Garnish with parsley, if desired. Yield: 12 servings.
{http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/08/health/20101108_thanksgiving.html#10}
Q. A lot of people are paying more attention to where their food comes from, but has the social aspect of how we eat our food been missed?
A. As the family dinner has declined over the past 30 years, all these disturbing health problems have increased -- obesity and diabetes. We're feeling the social ramifications of not doing this ritual the way our parents and grandparents did.
The other piece of this that's creating challenges for parents is the computer and the cell phone and the text messaging. Everything about our current lifestyle is pushing away connectedness. That's why it's so important to put your foot down and recapture this ritual. It's the key way that people are civilized. It's how you learn manners. It's how you get to taste new foods and develop a palate. It's how you learn to listen and have a conversation. It improves your vocabulary. It's where you develop your debating skills. Hopefully at the table you're discussing world affairs and learning to have a social conscience.
Q. You talked to a lot of interesting people about their own family dinners. Did you take any ideas from those back to your own house?
I love this old-fashioned idea of poetry at the dinner table. Kids used to learn poetry in school in first or second grade, and you came to the table and you recited it. Everybody applauded, and the self-esteem that the kids got from it was incredible. I didn't teach my kids poetry, but my boyfriend has a 7-year-old and we're teaching her poetry.
Q. I still find that it's really worthwhile to make the effort to sit down and have dinner together, put aside our laptops and The New York Times. You're inspiring me to make that a ritual.
I also appreciated your admission that it's not always easy to have a good conversation at the dinner table.
A. You have to create it. I can't tell you how many people I interviewed who said, "We had regular family dinner, but nobody talked." For some people, the conversation is as challenging as preparing the food. This book is going to help those people.
I come from the philosophy that if you're at the table, you have a responsibility to participate. I think we have to teach our kids that, too. You don't get to just come and eat and then leave. You have to be excited about what you're eating. You have to tell the person who prepared the food how good it is. You have to contribute in some way.
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What great memories or traditions related to dinner do you have and cherish?
Do you struggle with making dinner a family event?
What do your conversations include at the dinner table?
How is family dinner special for you?
This is one of those great, last minute dishes. With all the rotating dishes in the oven, it is nice to toss a quick salad together that doesn't need its turn to bake.
5 oz package of mixed greens
1 large Honeycrisp apple
2/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
Lemon juice
1/3 cup walnuts, optional
Balsamic vinaigrette homemade or store bought
{www.blog.craftzine.com}
