Two-Potato Gratin

This recipe comes from the December 2012 issue of Cooking Light magazine. I love that it’s possible to have some wonderful comfort food without having to consume a huge amount of calories.

Two-Potato Gratin

2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices (about 3 cups)
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices (about 4 cups)
2 quarts no-salt-added chicken stock (such as Swanson)
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 ½ cups 2% reduced-fat milk
2 thyme sprigs
¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 oz. aged Gruyere cheese, shredded (about ¾ cup)
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 oz. fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (about ¼ cup)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place potatoes in a large stock pot; cover with stock. Bring mixture to a boil; cool 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Carefully remove potatoes from pot using a slotted spoon, reserving cooking liquid. Arrange potato slices in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan; set aside. Strain cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl; reserve 1 cup cooking liquid. Discard solids and remaining cooking liquid.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add oil to pan. Sprinkle flour over oil; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Combine milk and 1 cup reserved cooking liquid. Gradually pour milk mixture into flour mixture in pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add thyme springs to pan. Bring mixture to a boil; cook 4 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl, reserving sauce; discard solids. Stir ½ teaspoon salt, pepper and Gruyere cheese into sauce.

Spread ½ cup sauce in bottom of a broiler-safe 1-quart ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange a single, flat layer of sweet potato and then baking potato slices over sauce. Over flat layer, alternate baking potato and sweet potato slices, in shingle-like fashion. Sprinkle evenly with remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon chives, and chopped thyme; pour remaining sauce over potato mixture. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife.

Remove gratin from oven. Preheat broiler to high.

Place gratin in oven. Broil gratin 3 minutes or until browned. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon chives.

Makes 8 servings, at 218 calories per

Classic Cole Slaw

Okay. I’ll admit it. I don’t like Cole Slaw. I just don’t. I know it’s not real Southern of me but it just is the way it is. That said, most folks in my world love it. And sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. That means preparing a food because other people like it.

Classic Cole Slaw

1 cup BEST FOODS Real, Light or Cholesterol Free Reduced Calorie Mayonnaise
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
½ cup thinly sliced green pepper

Combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, sugar and salt. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover. Chill.

Makes 6 cups.

New West Chicken Salad

This recipe comes from the folks over at Best Foods. I found it on one of those little recipe cards. It was likely originally in a magazine. I hope you enjoy it.

New West Chicken Salad

¾ cup BEST FOODS Real, Light or Cholesterol Free Reduced Calorie Mayonnaise
½ teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 ½ cups red seedless grapes
1 cup sliced celery
1/3 cup sliced green onions
½ cup broken walnuts

Combine mayonnaise, ground ginger and salt. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover. Chill. If desired, garnish with additional walnuts.

Makes 5 ½ cups.

Fudge Truffle Cheesecake

Is there anything better than chocolate and cheesecake -- together? I love cheesecake. Always have. This cheesecake is just luscious. Love those folks over at HERSHEY’S. They come up with some wonderful recipes.

Fudge Truffle Cheesecake

Chocolate Crumb Crust (recipe follows)
2 cups (12 oz. package) HERSHEY’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz.) can EAGLE BRAND Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Heat oven to 300 degrees.

Prepare Chocolate Crumb Crust. Set aside.

In heavy saucepan, over very low heat, melt chips, stirring constantly. In large mixer bowl, beat cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add melted chips and remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour and 5 minutes or until center is set. Cool; chill. Refrigerate leftovers.

Makes one 9-inch cheesecake.

Chocolate Crumb Crust

In medium bowl, combine 1 ½ cups vanilla wafer crumbs, ½ cup powdered sugar, /2 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa and 1/3 cup melted butter or margarine. Press firmly on bottom of 9-inch spring form pan.

Italian Style Meatloaf

This recipe comes from the folks over at Del Monte. It was on an ad I tore out of a magazine years ago. I believe the year was 1990. You thought I was kidding, right? Nope. Just another one of those recipes I collected and fully intended to try. But even if I’d remembered it, I never would have found it. Now I have. Sounds pretty good to me. What do you think?

Italian Style Meatloaf

1 lb. lean ground beef
6 oz. hot Italian sausage or spicy bulk sausage
1 can (14 ½ oz.) Del Monte Italian Style Stewed Tomatoes
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
½ cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped green pepper
1 egg, beaten

In large bowl, combine all ingredients; mix well. Place in 4 ½ x 8-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Drain.

Makes 6 servings.

Tuna Salad with a Twist

Okay. I’ll admit it. I’ve never even thought about putting lime juice in a tuna salad. Never. But I like the idea so I think I’m going to give it a try. Of course, my version won’t have the cucumber in it but that’s just my personal taste buds speaking. This recipe come from the folks over at Best Foods.

Tuna Salad with a Twist

¾ cup BEST FOODS Real, Light or Cholesterol Free Reduced Calorie Mayonnaise
3 tablespoons lime juice
½ teaspoon grated lime peel
2 cans (6 ½ oz. each) tuna, drained and flaked
1 medium red pepper, cubed
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seed and chopped
1/3 cup sliced green onions

Combine mayonnaise, lime juice and grated lime peel. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover. Chill.

Makes 4 cups.

Creamy Chicken Alfredo

This recipe comes from Easy to Bake, Easy to Make. I think. It’s one of those recipe cards I saved. I probably got it in the mail when someone was trying to sell me something I didn’t buy.

I do love the helpful hints that are included. For example, be sure to use whipping cream and don’t substitute milk. The fat content in the whipping cream helps keep the sauce from separating and give it a rich flavor.

The card also says you can substitute butter for olive oil if you prefer a butter-flavored sauce. Either way sounds good to me.

Creamy Chicken Alfredo

¼ cup all-purpose flour
6 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves (about 4 oz. each)
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 ½ cups whipping cream
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place flour is a shallow dish or pie plate. Sprinkle chicken with salt; coat with flour. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until hot. Add chicken; cook, turning once, until golden, 2-4 minutes per side. Remove chicken from skillet. Place in a 13-x-9-inch baking dish.

Heat remaining olive oil in same skillet over medium heat until hot. Add garlic and onion; cook until garlic is fragrant and onion is tender, 1-2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; add whipping cream, Parmesan and pepper. Cook until sauce is bubbly and slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken in dish.

Bake chicken until an instead-read thermometer inserted in center of chicken registers 180 degrees, 8-12 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

Makes 6 servings.