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.

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds (about 5 medium) russet, Idaho, or other baking potatoes, scrubbed but unpeeled.
• Salt
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 pound (about 2 large) onions, thinly sliced
• 6 large eggs, hard boiled
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Sweet Hungarian paprika
• 2 cups sour cream

Method

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until potatoes are just tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool enough to handle. Peel potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch rounds.
2. Place a medium saute pan over mediu heat. Add vegetable oil and heat until shimmering. Add onions and saute until soft and almost caramelized, about 25 mintues. Lower leat if they begin to brown too quickly.
3. Peel the eggs and cut into 1/3 inch rounds.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°. Generously coat the inside of a 1 to 1.5 quart baking dish with the butter. Arrange a layer of half the potatoes in the dish, then a layer of half the onions, and then a layer of half the eggs. Season with salt and pepper and a light sprinkling of paprika. Spread with half the sour cream. Repeat with the remaining potatoes, onions and eggs, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread with the remaining sour cream and sprinkle with paprika.
5. Cover the baking dish and place in the center rack of the oven. Bake for 45 minutes.

(Mirror)

Results: kind of boring. Apparently they usually add kolbász (Hungarian sausage) to it in Hungary, and they usually don't use the onions.

I found the texture of the hard-boiled eggs off-putting in the recipe. If I make it again, I will shred the eggs on the large holes of a cheese grater.

Put them in the oven preheated to 400° for 40-60 minutes, depending on size.

Mirror

Today I made turnips in mustard sauce from How to cook everything. My first reaction is: edible. We didn't eat turnips in my home growing up, so I'm not quite sure what they are supposed to taste like, and there was an oddish, slightly bitter taste to them. The mustard sauce was good, but it was strong enough that I'm not sure that I was actually tasting the turnips. I look forward to eating them again over the next few days and see how my palette reinterprets them. The caloric ingredients:

Dividing the recipe into four servings brings us to about 116 calories per serving, which is entirely reasonable for a side dish.