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Gratin

Mashed Potato, Cheese, and Chive Gratin

"I spend as much time as I can cooking," writes Brigette Lyons of Allendale, New Jersey, "and I'm equally comfortable feeding two or two hundred. I thoroughly enjoy giving sit-down meals, including an annual Christmas luncheon I do for about twenty guests. I just like to cook, period. Cooking for two hundred may be different from making weeknight dinners for myself and my husband, John, but organization is the key to both. I try to keep things on hand that are simple and easy to prepare." These rich and creamy mashed potatoes (thanks to sour cream and cream cheese) can be prepared ahead of time.

Fruit Gratin with Calvados and Mascarpone

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

Gratin of Potatoes with White Cheddar and Tarragon

This recipe calls for a standard glass baking dish, but any oven-to-table dish can be used.

Scalloped Butternut Squash

This recipe is based on a delicious dish made by Laura DaMiano, a Quebecois chef. She loves the flavor of butternut squash paired with Oka cheese, a mild, semisoft cow's-milk cheese. Mild Cheddar can be used as a substitute. If you are making this entire menu in a single oven, and you are not making the scalloped squash ahead, you can bake the squash while the ham is standing after braising.

Cauliflower Cheddar Gratin with Horseradish Crumbs

Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 45 min

Polenta Gratin with Mushroom Bolognese

Tom Colicchio My grandmother used to make a polenta gratin. She layered it with a simple tomato sauce, and we'd have it as a side dish. I make it now with a mushroom Bolognese for a heartier dish that can be the center of the meal.

Yukon Gold Potato and Wild Mushroom Gratin with Blue Cheese

Use fresh button mushrooms if wild mushrooms are hard to get; you will still have delicious results. Yukon Gold potatoes have a pale yellow color and a buttery taste that adds to the richness of this dish.

Potato and Portobello Mushroom Gratin

This was inspired by a dish created by Alex Padilla, sous chef at Boulevard, the San Francisco restaurant owned by Aidells's wife.

Potato-Green Chile Gratin

Tarragon Scallop Gratins

Herbed rice and sautéed cherry tomatoes are suitable accompaniments for the delicate main course.

Pommes Anna

(Sliced Potato Cake)
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