Last Minute Thanksgiving Side From Deelicious Park City

Instructions

1. Over medium low heat, melt the olive oil and one tablespoon butter in a large frying pan.
2. Add leeks and salt and stir.
3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks are tender, about 8 minutes.
4. Add in the garlic and cook until just fragrant but not brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Add a dash of white balsamic and sauté a minute more until most of the vinegar has evaporated.
6. Add spices and cream.
7. Simmer, uncovered until thickened or about 10 minutes.
8. Transfer to bowl and cool.
9. Peel and slice potatoes evenly into approximately 1/8 inch slices.
10. Dump slices in cold water as you slice so that the potatoes don't turn brown.
11. Grease a gratin dish with remaining butter and preheat oven to 300 degrees
12. Once you are ready to assemble, drain the potatoes.
13. Layer ¼ of potatoes, 1/3 of leek mixture, ¼ of the cheese and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
14. Repeat the layers 2 more times.
15. The last layer should be just a layer of potatoes topped with the last bit of cheese.
16. Bake for approximately 1 ½ hours.
17. Do not let the cream boil to avoid it separating and curdling.
18. It's done when it has a nice golden brown to orange color; the potatoes are tender but still hold their shape; and the cream has thickened and reduced slightly.
19. Let cool for 15-20 minutes before serving.
20. **Note: this recipe was originally written for The Next Course Class at Mountain Town Olive Oil and uses California Garlic Oil in place of the olive oil and garlic, Steak Y’er Claim Spice Blend in place of the individual spices, and Sicilian Lemon Balsamic in place of the white balsamic. I highly recommend using the specialized products!!