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The downward-facing dog pose of food.
By Kristen | March 16, 2007
I had a yoga instructor who used to tell her students everyone has one pose they find effortless on their very first try*, and one pose they will always struggle with. As for me, like the title says, downward-facing dog is my yoga nemesis. No matter what I do, it just doesn’t work out for me. Something to do with hamstrings and a love of high-heeled shoes. Like I’m going to give up cute shoes for a yoga pose.
Anyway, I’m starting to think cooking is very much the same, and in this case, my downward-facing dog is potatoes au gratin.
That is Gratin Dauphinois, as laid out in My French Kitchen
Worse still, it was really kind of bland. The cheese was good, because, duh, it’s cheese, but the potatoes were just eh.
Sadly, this isn’t first time I’ve made a crappy potato gratin. Last time, I made a white sauce and added the cheese to that, and it was horrible; goopy and bland — worse than this, in fact.
(This time, at least, the leftovers were worth saving, and last night, I threw them in the blender, thinned it out, doctored it up a little and ended up with one of the best soups I’ve ever made.)
The more I think about it, the more I suspect the problem lies in the fact that I don’t own a gratin dish
* Oh, and the pose I find effortless? Ears pressure pose. Seriously. God, I totally should have been a porn star.
Topics: Not Gezellig!, Questions, Cooking Gear |
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March 16th, 2007 at 10:55 am
It may also be the sort of potatoes, which may not be absorbing the liquid. I read varying opinions on which kind of potates are best for gratins. I’m a big fan of the Yukon Gold as my all purpose potato and my potato gratins are usually okay. I do tend to do the non-cream kind though. And cook it for a lot longer than any cookbook I’ve ever read calls for. Elizabeth David has a lot of interesting potato gratin info in various books of hers.
March 16th, 2007 at 11:05 am
The recipe specifically called for “baking potatoes” and I’m pretty sure I used russets… but now that I check in with one of my favorite food sites, it says Best for potato salads, gratins, and scalloped potatoes: Yellow Finn potato, new potato, red-skinned potato, white round potato, and purple potato , so I think you may be right.
March 16th, 2007 at 11:15 am
I was going to recommend yukon golds too, they bake well, but also absorb liquids. Although I never have much gratin luck either.
March 16th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
And having said all that, I think your gratin looks like yummy “scalloped potatoes” and the resulting next day’s soup sound delish!!
March 16th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Dude. I have that cookbook (and its sequel) and I am TOTALLY making this this weekend.
Some of the recipes in that book disappointed me. There’s some sort of cherry dessert situation that didn’t turn out so well for me. But the photos? Divine.
March 16th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Divide the lot between two dishes? Add salt and pepper to the cream mixture? I like adding an egg to my cream mixture, it makes it “coagulate in a good way”. I also put part of my cheese into my cream mixture. And I don’t care if that’s the propper way of doing gratin either ;-)
March 19th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
I don’t make scalloped potatoes much but — from the pic, it looks like your cheese and cream sauce broke. I was having this problem with mac and cheese and read to cook it at a lower temp (I think 325) because a higher heat will cause cheese-based sauces to break.
March 19th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
when all else fails try the recipe(s) from America’s Test Kitchen - my experience with their recipes, while limited, has been excellent
my recollection of what worked for me was their recommendation of par-cooking on the stovetop (in the baking liquid) and then finishing in the oven
March 19th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Ha! Your parting shot about the ear pressure pose temporarily made me forget the comment I’d started to make. I like witty, entertaining writing as much as I do good food ideas.
Lots of good suggestions from others on the liquid issues. Regarding the bland flavor, maybe more garlic? Or maybe just a little more generous hand with the salt shaker. I know as a nation, we tend to oversalt [well, except for me—I chronically undersalt when I cook], but with potatoes, a little extra salt can help bring out their flavor.
May 31st, 2008 at 8:44 am
I hate downward facing dog too! My hamstrings have been tight my whole life and will not loosen no matter what I do. I’m glad to know someone else also struggles with this very common and deceptively easy looking position. As for the dish, you’ve at least got the visual part right, it looks delicious.