Potato Gratin with Summer Squash
When people think of assistive animals, dogs invariably come to mind. And while it’s true that service felines are few, we who are owned by cats know better.
Lucy, for instance, helps John dress every morning.
Those of you not cohabitating with wheelchair users likely have devoted little thought to how the non-walking dress. Methods vary, and I can only speak to how we–a 124-pound woman and her much heavier, much more paralyzed husband–go about it. It is not easy. That I am not Ms. Middle-Aged Fitness 2016 doesn’t help matters. But having an Assistive Feline is naturally an aid to proceedings as we prepare our Drain On Society for work as a civil engineer, ensuring San Francisco Bay Area citizens have clean drinking water, employment Crescent Hardy is likely incapable of. I mean, I’m just hazarding a guess here.
But.
Lucy the Assistance Kitty leaps on the bed and gets thisclose to John as we wrangle him into his clothes. This morning, though, she must have sensed I was in need of extra help. I’d laid out the usual array of creams, pressure stockings, and the pressure stocking assist aid (called a caran), alongside a pile of tissues and turned to rinsing the bipap mask when I heard a scrabbling noise. Poking my head out of the bathroom, I found this:
And this:
And, of course, this:
Why “of course?” Well, for all you non-cat types out there, this innocent look means: You are completely under my paw.
—
Potato Gratin with Summer Squash began as a side dish to accompany our anniversary dinner. Why, number 20, since you ask. It was also something of a refrigerator clean-out exercise, as I had squash and organic half-and-half (which spoils quickly) in need of using up. Yet it turned out so wonderfully that I scribbled down what I did–in the back of my notebook, for some dumb reason–and offer it here for your next wedding anniversary, refrigerator mop-up, or whenever the need to refute an idiot politico’s misguided remarks arises. I’m sure the next opportunity will arise shortly.
Which really isn’t the least bit funny.
On a more pedestrian note, it’s a good idea to bake gratins on a sturdy, foil-lined baking sheet. That way, should the milk decide to bubble up and boil over, you won’t have a horrible mess to clean up. No sturdy baking sheet? Have two flimsy baking sheets? Use them together.
Potato Gratin with Summer Squash
yield: 4-6 servings
prep time: approximately 1 hour
2-2 1/2 pounds Russet potatoes (about 4 large) peeled and sliced
2-3 medium summer squash (about 12 ounces), peeled and sliced
2-3 cups half-and-half or heavy cream
3 teaspoons salt
pepper to taste
1 large garlic clove, peeled and halved
unsalted butter for greasing the gratin dish
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Line a sturdy baking sheet with foil or place two flimsy baking sheets together. Should the gratin boil over, it will hit the baking sheet and not your oven. You want the pan sitting on a stable base, which is why you should double your baking sheets if they’re flimsy.
Peel potatoes and then slice them reasonably thinly. I prefer slicing them lengthways. If necessary, trim a flat “face” on each potato so they rest safely on the cutting board. Place potato slices in a large pot as you go.
When all the potatoes are sliced, pour just enough half-and-half or cream to cover. This will be 2 to 2 1/2 cups. Turn burner to medium high. Bring pot to a boil. Add the salt and pepper. Stir.
Cook until potatoes are nearly done. This will take about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel and slice the squash in coins. Set aside.
Prepare the gratin dish: in a large shallow baking dish–about 11-12 inches around–run the halved garlic clove. You can either remove it or leave it in, according to your preference.
Generously butter bottom and sides of gratin dish.
Test potatoes: they should break easily with a spoon. Once they do, use a slotted spoon to arrange them in layers in the gratin dish, alternating with the squash. You will have more potato than squash.
Carefully ladle or pour the hot dairy over the potato/squash mixture. It may not come all the up to the top. That’s okay.
Place on baking sheet. Slide carefully into oven. Bake 20-30 minutes. Gratin is done with the top is bubbling, browned, and delicious-smelling.
Top with parsley, if you wish.
Note: Some cooks prefer white pepper, as black leaves visible dots. I don’t mind the black pepper.
You could toss in a handful of panko during the last 10 minutes of baking, if you have any. This is a lazy person’s way of topping with breadcrumbs. But it works.
Gratin keeps well, refrigerated, up to three days, assuming you can keep your hands off it.
