Gratin Dauphinois (French Scalloped Potatoes)

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Hey! Alicia here with another international recipe for y'all! Each month we pick a different country from our ancestry and cook foods from that country. I then share the meals with you! We are using our own family trees as well as the results from our ancestry DNA test to pick the countries.

This month we're doing France! 

Both sides of my little family have French in their blood. In fact, one of my husband's great grandfathers, on his dad's side, is from Corsica, France. He moved to Ecuador and he wrote the Ecuadorian national anthem! Antonio Neumane. He studied music against his parents wishes, but in the end actually had a very fruitful music career. And this tradition of music continued down through the generations. My father in law, was a well-known pianist and conductor in Ecuador as well! When we went to Ecuador they put a display about him in a music museum there! It was really cool! My husband and his siblings are all very talented musically. A very fun legacy from a musical french ancestor!

So today, in our French ancestors honor we made Gratin Dauphinois (French scalloped potatoes) and roasted chicken.

Gratin Dauphinois (French Scalloped Potatoes)

Usually when I think of scalloped potatoes I think of cheese and potatoes. But to make true Gratin Dauphinois, you DON'T USE CHEESE! I know! I was skeptical at first, but really this turned out so delicious! You still get a crispy brown top from the starch in the potatoes. 

Some tips for make Gratin Dauphinois

• The nutmeg in this recipe was divine. I really loved it. It complimented the subtle flavors of the cream and potatoes so well. I did not miss the cheese at all. So don't skimp on the nutmeg. I added it to the top of my potatoes in the saucepan and gave it a good dusting. I then mixed it in. 
• Some recipes that I saw used leeks or chives. I decided chives were good enough for me.
• I used myfood processor to slice my potatoes. It made it so fast and easy. A mandoline slicer would be useful here as well.

Just look at that beauty. Gratin Dauphinois was so wonderful! And the leftovers are great too. And it was really easy to make. If you con't have cream on hand, I saw some recipes where it could be made with just milk. So if you're craving scalloped potatoes, try Gratin Dauphinois, you won't regret it.

Gratin Dauphinois

Roasted Chicken

To go with the Gratin Dauphinois, I thought a roasted chicken would be delicious. I was just going to buy a rotisserie chicken from the store but then thought it would be fun to try my hand at roasting a chicken. It was so good too!

I did look up how the French roast chickens but I didn't have time nor ingredients for Julia Child's recipe. So I'll just say the flavors are French inspired though not classically French at all.

I don't have a recipe for you, but I rubbed my chicken with butter, and sprinkled it with thyme, salt, and pepper. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some extra pats of butter finished up the outside of the bird. I rubbed up under the breast skin with butter and stuck some cloves of garlic up there. Inside I stuffed it with lemon, garlic, and bay leaves. I meant to grab some rosemary from the plant outside but I forgot. I tied the legs together with some baker's twine. Then roasted it at 400F for 20 minutes. After that I reduced the temperature to 375F for another 90 minutes. I had a 5 pound bird that came out with nice crispy skin and beautifully moist meat. It was so delicious.

With the leftovers we made chicken tacos the next night.That's the great thing about this chicken the flavors are subtle enough that the leftovers can easily be transformed.

So I hope you give those Gratin Dauphinois a try. They're so delicious! Best scalloped potatoes I've ever had. If you do let us know in the comments how you liked it!