Ham and Yukon Potato Au Gratin

It's been awhile since I've posted and I apologize to the dozens (if I'm lucky) followers of this blog.  A few people have been gently pushing me to get back into this and so with that assistance here we go again and hopefully more frequently.

Tonight for dinner I sort of just threw this dish together loosely based on an Au Gratin recipe I've used from the Good Housekeeping cookbook.  My twist was to had some leftover ham we have had in the fridge since new year.  The smoky flavor from the ham adds another level of taste to the buttery potatoes and salty cheese.

The ingredient list is relatively simple:

4 Tablespoons of organic butter
5 or 6 Yukon Gold organic potatoes scrubbed and thinly sliced
1 to 2 cups of cooked ham julienne cut or cubed
4 to 8 ounces of cheddar cheese shredded
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
Kosher salt to taste


That's it, that's the list.

Place the butter into a 9 x 12 casserole dish and put into a preheated 425 degree oven until the butter is melted.  Next place half of the potatoes slices on the bottom of the pan on top of the butter and then sprinkle with some salt.  Sprinkle the ham on top of the potatoes.  Now place the other half of the potatoes over the ham.  Add the cheese to the top of the mixture and then sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the cheese.


Cover the casserole with foil and then bake for 20 minutes in the oven.  Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes.  The top should come out crisp and golden and bubbly.  This batch turned out a little drier than I had hoped so next time I will probably add a little melted butter to the top layer of potatoes.  I served this dish with steamed vegetables of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.

As always, let me know if you have any questions and comments and thanks for reading.  I think the next recipe I will try will be a BBQ Pork and Noodle Asian Soup, stay tuned.