What a week!

So this week has been so crazy. We had a wonderful Easter with Alex's family and a great Easter dinner. Though I am quite upset with myself for not taking any pictures. We all pitched in a brought a couple dishes for dinner. I was on starch duty, never can have enough carbohydrates:)

I brought Cooks Illustrated's Scalloped Potatoes which were amazing of course, and then for rolls I brought Pretzel Rolls. I got the recipe from epicurious and they were the hit of the night. I made them a little smaller getting 12 instead of 8 but that was perfect and they tasted amazing. It was so nice to be with family and we celebrated our niece's 2nd birthday!

But after the holiday, Alex came down with the stomach flu which stopped the need for new recipes considering we had plenty of leftovers from Easter. The night before he was bedridden with the flu, we had leftover ham wtih a new recipe I found for Wild rice casserole in the crockpot. One of those recipes where you open a few cans and plop it all in to cook all day (I didn't add the chicken), well it was fantastic, definately comfort food and got rid of some things in the pantry.


I almost forgot the best part of Easter, well for me at least, food wise, were the caramel rolls I made for Easter breakfast. They were Cooks Illustrated Best Light recipe for Cinnamon Rolls...AMAZING...soft, yummy, and oh so addicting. Instead of the frosting I used the CI caramel for caramel rolls, since it was something we hadn't had in awhile! Try them...they are delicious!


Scalloped Potatoes

2 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, minced
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, minced
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 lbs (about 5 med) russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8" thick
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
2 bay leaves
4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the foaming subsides, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the potatoes, broth, cream, and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender (a paring knife can be slipped into and out of a potato slice with some resistance), about 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaves.

3. Transfer the mixture to an 8-inch square baking dish (or other 1 1/2 quart gratin dish). Sprinkle evenly with the cheese. Bake until the cream is bubbling around the edges and the top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.