Frankly, I've never pulled this dish off right. It's always been too watery. This recipe changed that.

Ingredients

• 4 cups thinly sliced potatoes, original recipe, deprecated
• 1.5 lbs thinly sliced potatoes
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 1⁄2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash cayenne pepper
• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1⁄2 cup grated cheese, to sprinkle on top
• paprika

Method

1. In a small sauce pan, melt butter and blend in flour. Let cook while stirring occasionally untiil the floury smell is replaced by a nutty smell.
2. Add cold milk bit by bit, stirring with a whisk bit by bit until it is all smooth.
3. Season with salt and cayenne. Cook sauce on low until smooth and boiling, stirring occasionally with a whisk.
4. Reduce heat and stir in cheese.
5. Place a half of the sliced potatoes in a lightly greased one quart casserole dish.
6. Pour half of cheese sauce over potatoes.
7. Repeat with second layer of potatoes and cheese sauce.
8. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
9. Top with some paprika for color.
10. Bake at 350° for an hour.

These turned out just about perfect the first time. I sliced the potatoes on a mandolin, which makes it really easy. I feel odd about the "four cups" direction. Hard to measure sliced potatoes in cups. I think I basically used two.

2017-05-03: I made these again this evening, Last time I think I only used three medium-sized potatoes, and this time I used four medium and large ones. The result was that some of the potatoes were cooked not quite enough. I should use three medium-sized ones again next time. I also sprinkled a bit of thyme on top of each layer of potatoes. Don't bother to do that again. The taste wasn't really all that complementary.

2017-05-06: I made these again this evening. This time I used 1.5 pounds of potatoes, which was four medium sized ones. This turned out well, with just a touch of resistance left in the potatoes. From now on, no more than 1.5 pounds.