Recipe #1 Scalloped Potatoes

This is one of the first recipes Kern made from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and has become an all time favourite at our house anytime of year. Its not a recipe you can just write out and hand over, it takes more time to give instructions than to actually prepare the dish. And yes, the dish is key in making these scalloped potatoes. You need a dish no more than 2 inches deep. We searched for many years to find the right dish and we now have 2 because once we found the perfect dish, we ended the search. The dish we use is an 8" x 10" x 2" heavy botttom Dansk casserole dish. You can find the original recipe on Page 523 in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" but this is Kern's variation. He uses becel because I insist.

6 cups of sliced boiling potatoes
1 glove of garlic
1/2 cup Becel
1 tsp salt (he likes to use sea salt)
Pepper to taste
1 cup grated Monteray Jack Cheese & old Cheddar
1 cup boiling milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Peel potatoes and slice them 1/8 inch thick. Place in a basin of cold water. Drain when ready to use.
Rub the baking dish with the cut garlic. Smear with dish with 1 tbsp of becel. Drain the potatoes and dry them in a towel. Spread 1/2 in the bottom of the dish. Divide over them 1/2 salt, pepper, cheese and becel. Arrange the remaining potatoes over the first layer, and season them. Spread the rest of the cheese & becel to cover.
Bring the milk to a boil on the stove top and pour over the potatoe mixture. Set the baking dish over the stove top and when the milk has simmered, move dish into a preheated oven. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender, milk has been absorbed, and the top is nicely browned.