cheesy potato pie.

Sometimes I feel like I get stuck in a rut when it comes to side dishes. White rice, brown rice, boiled potatoes, roasted potatoes, fried potatoes, mashed potatoes...blah! I feel that guy from Forrest Gump... lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad...haha! But it's true! It's always the eternal question...what do you want to eat with our fish?...or chicken?...or ribs?...or whatever's for dinner that night! You can only eat sooo much white rice.

So when I saw chef Michael Smith making a delicious looking cheesy potato pie the other day on TV, I had to try it. While his theory is "My favourite recipe...cooking WITHOUT a recipe", I'll leave that to the professionals. I followed his recipe as well as I normally follow a recipe...taking general suggestions and rough measurements. It turned out amazing! It's like a delicious slice of crispy, cheesy, potatoey goodness! I would probably describe it as deconstructed scalloped potatoes...or a big cheesy hashbrown...or as my brother referred to it, as a cheese "latke". Whatever it is...it's GOOD!!!

Cheesy Potato Pie

- (7-10) Yukon Gold potatoes (depending on the size), scrubbed clean
- (1) onion, grated
- (2) cups 35% whipping cream
- (1) teaspoon ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
- (1 1/2) cups Gruyere cheese (Medium Cheddar works as well), grated

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Choose which pan you're going to be make your pie in. An oven-proof skillet or cast-iron pan work great, but a baking dish will do the trick too. Once you decide on your pan, lay your potatoes inside to fill the pan. This will give you an idea of how many potatoes you actually need to use, since potatoes come in all different shapes and sizes. My frying pan fit about 9 potatoes.

 
Remove the potatoes from the pan and grate them all into a large pot using the largest holes on your box grater. Follow by grating the onion and the cheese. Be sure to avoid your fingers (which I unfortunately did not). Add the grated potatoes and onions into the large pot and reserve the cheese til later.

 
Add the cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper to the potatoes and bring the mixture to a simmer. This preheating step really speeds up the oven time and evenly heats the potatoes.

While your potatoes are brought up to heat, heat your baking dish in the oven for at least 5 minutes. This will make sure you get a nice brown crispy edge to your pie. Once you remove your dish, lightly oil a towel or folded paper towel with vegetable oil and evenly rub the hot pan, coating it with oil just before using. You can also line your dish with parchment paper if you're using a standard baking pan.

Once your potatoes begin to simmer, stir in the cheese and pour the entire mixture into your preheated pan. 

 
Bake your potato pie for approximately an hour, keeping an eye on it as oven cooking times will vary. You're looking for your pie to have a deep golden brown crust. Loosen the eges with a paring knife and invert onto a serving platter while it's still warm. Cut into slices and serve.