scalloped potatoes

The name is so weird, right?

Whenever I hear someone say “scalloped potatoes” I always think “scalped.”

Though it wasn’t until just now when I said that that I realized scalped is not the same as scalloped, ha! Turns out, “scalloped” is derived from the English word “collop” which means to slice thinly. Thanks, Google.

Anyway! I’ve been digging scalloped potatoes. They’re a little intensive on the front end — all that slicing and all, though a mandolin does simplify the process considerably — but once assembled, they’re hands-off and super duper accommodating, pairing well with almost any meaty main dish, as well as making a fantastic addition to your morning breakfast eggs. 

a wee bit of flour

Scalloped potatoes can be barebones simple — just a little flour, S&P, butter, and milk — or gussy them up with grated cheeses, sliced onions, thinly sliced cabbage, browned sausage or crumbled bacon, herbs, whatever. Chef’s choice.

cheesin’ this batch up real good

smacking on some quark

mmm, milk

Scalloped Potatoes
My mother’s method, more or less.

potatoes, sliced thin
2-4 tablespoons butter
plenty of salt and some black pepper
3-5 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2-4 cups milk

Generously butter a sided baking dish. Arrange a single layer of potato slices in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle a teaspoon of flour over the potatoes. Salt well. Add a grind of pepper. If using cheese/meat/veggies, layer them in at this point as well.

Repeat, filling the pan with three to five layer of potatoes. Don’t fill the pan more than three-fourths full because if filled too full, the milk will bubble over and make a smokey mess of the oven. After the final layer of potatoes, skip the flour, sprinkle with S&P, dot with the butter, and then pour several cups of milk over the whole kit and kaboodle. The potatoes don’t need to be submerged with milk — just enough to keep them pleasantly saucy.

Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 60-90 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until the top is nice and toasty brown.

This same time, years previous: the quotidian (10.24.22), the quotidian (10.25.21), snowboarder cake, 2017 garden stats and notes, the quotidian (10.24.16), our cracking whip, random, the first teenager, aging.