Friday, September 20, 2013

Beer Potato and Cheese Gratin - 52 Cooking With Beer


A Crusty Crunchy Cheesy tops a sweet creamy cheesy fluffy potato casserole... Delicious!

But this potato gratin has the extra flavors of a citrus hoppy wheat beer... Any beer will work for this recipe, but the flavors of whatever you chose will shine through and flavor the dish.  Of course, the alcohol will cook out, leaving the distinctive flavor of the beer.  I chose my local home town brewer, Kansas City's own, Boulevard Brewing Company's  "80 - Acre Hoppy Wheat Beer".  This particular beer ads a lemony citrus aroma and taste.  the mixture of hops used adds to the Earthy potato taste of the dish.  Worked FANTASTIC!  As always, when cooking with beer, always try to pick the most flavorful you can find.  Like wine, do not cook with something you would not drink.

The gratin is pretty straight forward.  You simmer the beer down to enhance the flavors.  This replaces part of the milk or cream used in most recipes but the dish in no way suffered a lack of creaminess.  The inside (sorry, no photos) was the best potato gratin I have ever made.  So much flavor and so creamy sweet and cheesy!

You will love this!


OK... Here's what I did...


Beer Potato and Cheese Gratin

Ingredients
  • 1 (12 Oz) Bottle Beer (I used Boulevard 80 Acre)
  • 2 Spirigs Fresh Rosemary
  • 1 Cup Heavy Cream
  • 2 TBS Flour
  • 4 Cloves Garlic, peeled, smashed and minced
  • 3-4 Pounds Russet Potatoes, sliced thin (Use a mandoline if you have one... Thinner the better)
  • Large Pinch each of Salt and Pepper
  • 4 Cups Shredded Smoked Gruyere Cheese, divided (any god melting cheese will work),
  • 2 TBS Fresh chopped Chives
Cooking Directions
  1. Bring Ale and Rosemary to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and allow to reduce by @ 1/4th... About 7 minutes
  2. Combine cream flour and garlic in a small bowl. Whisk to thoroughly mix and combine. Once totally mixed, add the reduced beer to this and whisk again to combine.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  4. Grease a large shallow baking dish. Layer 1/4th the potato slices covering the bottom of the pan and layering around. Spread 1/4th of the cheese and 1/4th of the Beer/Garlic/Cream mix. Repeat 3 more times, being careful to reserve enough of each (cheese and goo mix) to cover the top layer of potatoes.
  5. Cover with Aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes
  6. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes until the top is golden brown and DELICIOUS!
  7. Serve HOT and ENJOY!!!

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So,  I am pleased to list this as one of my Growing list of  "52 Cooking With BEER Recipes"!!!

Everyone knows about cooking with wine, but BEER has so much more complex flavors.  I imagine the day after beer was invented, someone made an Irish Stew. Cooking with beer infuses recipes with this intoxicating concoction of hops and barley in an effort to enhance and enrich everyday food..  Come take a look, sure to have something you might like to try.  All recipes have been tested and WORK!

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