Au Gratin Potatoes

Ruth's Chris Au Gratin Potatoes

I've eaten at Ruth's Chris Steak House just once, about fifteen years ago, and it's still a meal I think about fondly. As if the amazing steak was not enough, we had two kinds of incredibly delicious potatoes on the side: lyonnaise potatoes and au gratin potatoes. The au gratin potatoes were simple potato perfection, cooked to a nice melt-in-your-mouth tenderness in a thick cream and then topped with fabulous melty cheddar cheese. Oh my goodness. 
When I decided to grill some tri-tip chunks tonight, I thought that those potatoes would be a lovely pairing. So, I got home and googled "ruths chris au gratin potatoes" and surprise, surprise! Epicurious had a recipe called "Ruth's Chris Steak House Potatoes Au Gratin"! I LOVE it when that happens.
I'm going to post the recipe as is for now, because that's how I prepared it, but next time, I will add slightly more salt (like 1/2 teaspoon instead of 1/4) and a bit more cheese (2 cups instead of 1 1/2). They were awesome as-is, but I think they'd be even more fantastic with those additions. Oh, and I did not have parsley to garnish, so I omitted that ingredient all together.
The garlic flavor in these is more pronounced than I would have thought, and I love that, but if you're not a garlic fan, you might want to back off of the garlic a little. Enough said. Try these.

Au Gratin Potatoes
   --adapted from Epicurious.com

Ingredients:

• 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons flour (I like to use Better Batter gluten free flour)
• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped or pressed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cut potatoes into slightly thinner than 1/4 inch slices, then quarter those slices.
Whisk together the cream, milk, flour, salt, pepper, and garlic.
Coat the inside of a baking/casserole dish with the butter.
Arrange 1/4 of the potatoes on the bottom of the dish, and then pour 1/4 of the cream mixture over the potatoes. Repeat three more times with remaining potatoes and cream.
Cover the dish and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove the cover and bake another 40 minutes, until the tops start to brown. 
Remove from oven and sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and starts to bubble and brown.
Serve hot, but be very careful let them cool on your plate a little before eating.
Makes 4-6 servings

Right before going into the oven