Potato and Poblano Gratin

Recipe as published:

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
3 large poblano chiles, charred, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 2-inch wide by 1/2-inch-thick strips
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup Mexican crema, or creme fraiche
4 Yukon gold potatoes (about 1 pound), unpeeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick rounds
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cup coarsely grated Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Spray a glass 9 1/2-inch, deep dish pie dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the poblano strips and corn.

In a small bowl, mix together the half-and-half and crema.

Arrange 1/2 of the potato rounds, overlapping slightly, in the prepared pie dish. Sprinkle 1/2 of the poblano-corn mixture on top, season with the salt and pepper, and top with 1/2 of the cheese. Repeat the layers, ending with the cheese. Pour the cream mixture over the potatoes. Place the pie dish on a baking sheet. Cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the potatoes are tender and the cheese is golden brown, about 30 minutes longer.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Cook's Note: For easy peeling, enclose the charred poblanos tightly in a plastic bag.

~Source: Food Network, Mexican Made Easy, Marcela Valladolid

 

 

 

Patti’s Notes: I was at Farmer’s Market in the morning and they had just roasted poblanos so I bought those instead of charring my own.  (DIY method is easy to do over a burner or under the broiler, and as Marcela said above, put them in a zip bag while still hot and the skin will peel right off.)  I used fresh corn instead of frozen because they had some at Farmer’s Market. I had about 2 pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes instead of one (again, Farmer’s Market) but didn’t double any of the other ingredients. I used a 9x11 baking pan instead of a deep dish pie dish. I read the comments about the recipe on Food Network's website so based on those I made the following alterations: My grocery store didn’t have Mexican Crema or Crème Fraiche so I subbed 1 cup heavy cream (as one commenter did). It worked fine and saved me the trouble of going to another store.  There were a few comments that the Monterey Jack was too bland so I used 2 cups of Pepper Jack and 1 cup of Mexican Cheese Blend.  There were also comments about the potatoes needing to cook longer so I par-boiled them first (as suggested).  Since everything was virtually cooked I baked them at 350° instead of 400° (still 30 minutes covered, 30 minutes uncovered). The potatoes are seriously delicious. 


Tip-of-the Day: Always read the comments posted on recipes.  Let someone else do the experimenting and use the ideas that make sense!   

Health-O-Meter: This recipe rates pretty low on the Health-O-Meter, however I have a tip to light up the dinner plate.  When serving a heavy side dish, make the rest of the meal healthy to balance it out.  I made a turkey on the rotisserie and steamed fresh green beans. 

Easy Meter: Food Network rates it “easy”.  I would agree. 

Easy Schmeasy Berry Cobbler

1 Pound Frozen Fruit

1 Yellow Cake Mix

12 oz Lemon/Lime Soda (7-Up, Sprite, etc.)

 

Pre-Heat oven to 375°

 

Put frozen berries in 9 x 11 pan;

Sprinkle dry cake mix over the top;

Pour soda over the mix;

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 20 minutes.

Serve with ice cream or whipped topping.

 

~Source: this one is hard to pinpoint the origin.  It’s been all around the internet (Pinterest, Weight Watchers, Sparkpeople, etc.)

 

Patti’s Notes: I sprayed the pan with Pam and used a 16 oz package of mixed berries (blackberries, raspberries and blueberries) and added some extra berries that I had in the freezer (probably another cup or so).  I baked it an extra 10 minutes because I thought it was too loosy goosey.  I actually thought it was still too loose and that next time I should add some cornstarch over the berries to help thicken it, but low and behold, after it sat out for about an hour while we were eating dinner it set up and was just perfect. No cornstarch needed. We topped it with vanilla ice cream. The boys loved it.  I think everyone had seconds. There wasn't an ounce of leftovers. This one is a keeper. I think this would also be great made with frozen peaches.  Peach Cobbler ala mode.  Yum. 

 

Health-O-Meter: You can use regular cake mix and regular soda or you can lighten it up and use reduced calorie cake mix and diet soda. Top with Cool Whip Lite instead of ice cream.

 

Easy Meter: It doesn’t get any easier than this. 

  ^That's just frost on the berries, I didn't add sugar.

Covered with cake mix and bathed in 7-Up.