It’s been a busy fall here in Northern California with a strenuous work schedule the likes of which I haven’t seen since I was in my twenties. I don’t mind the hard work – we all do it sometimes – but when you’re pulling long days something has to give, and for me it was my cooking. Sure, I still made something to eat, but when I pulled out the pot to boil water for rice pasta for the third time in a week, after justifying a dinner of cheese and salami just the night before, I realized I’d reached cooking rock bottom. So, over the past few weeks I’ve been attempting to reacquaint myself with the kitchen by cooking a few simple-to-prepare, gourmet-ish recipes. The results vary day by day, and I am patient with myself in the process, but every once in a while I come up with something so good I just have to share. What was this week’s specialty? Something I’m calling F’Au Gratin. Come and cook with us!
Two nights ago, just as I was leaving the store where I work, I grabbed a sweet potato and a small piece of cheese to go. I was tired, and not really prepared to assemble a meal, but I had to eat. And, I’d made this pact with myself to eat well and healthy as often as I could, so the pressure was on. By the time I arrived home, I’d cooked up the idea of making a fake au gratin by using my mandolin on the potato, along with a summer squash that was just beginning to wilt in my fridge, and an onion. I’ve never made an au gratin of any kind – vegetable, potato, or otherwise – but, I thought, it can’t be that hard.
Turns out it isn’t. In fact, from start to oven was 10 minutes, and with a 45 minute bake cycle I had just enough time to unwind before dinner was served. Here’s what I did to make my F’Au gratin, and how I might repeat the exercise with other vegetable combinations at another time this season. Come and cook with us!
Come and Cook with Us 