Chronicles of Whistling Duck Cottage
Week Eight — Oak Rotten Potatoes
Week Thirty-Three of 52-Week Writing Challenge
All Photos but One by Dennett
The week was odd. My husband had surgery on Monday — planned, day-stay but worrisome, nonetheless. My chores increased because his decreased. Schedules were upended as accommodations were made for what was necessary, rather than what was typical. He is doing well, healing a little more every day, and gradually getting back to his normal routine.
The additional stress and work, as well as the Charlottesville horror show, resulted in back pain that I am struggling to overcome. I wrote in my last Chronicles of Whistling Duck Cottage post that I was walking two miles most mornings and an additional mile or so a few evenings each week. My daily walking routine took a serious hit — partially due to his surgery, partially due to my additional responsibilities, and partially due to fatigue and back pain. I pounded the sidewalks a couple of mornings but relied on evening walks on a few other days.
Since my husband was still in recovery mode when the grandkids came yesterday, we decided to cook for him. The “we” became more “me” when the kids became engrossed in a “Twilight” movie (Someone please explain these movies to me!!). My granddaughter has graduated, too quickly, from the Disney Channel to the Twilight franchise. My grandson watches also, somewhat engaged in the stories but totally grossed out by the violent fighting that inevitably results in heads flying off bodies. My granddaughter, who cries over roadkill, doesn’t blink an eye when the Twilight carnage begins. When I express horror, she replies, “Geez, it’s not real! You do know that there aren’t any vampires and werewolves, don’t you?”
Since her attention was on vampires and not the kitchen, I made au gratin potatoes flying solo. Earlier in the day, we shopped for our dinner ingredients. When asked by my grandson what would be the dinner menu, I said, “Au gratin potatoes, pork chops, and salad.”
“Oak rotten potatoes?!” he exclaimed, “I’m not eating oak rotten potatoes!”
Obviously, he’d never been exposed to au gratin potatoes!
He did not participate in the making of the “oak rotten potatoes”, but he sure did enjoy them!
My Oak Rotten Potatoes (a/k/a Au Gratin Potatoes):
>Peel and slice 3 to 4 large Russet potatoes and one medium yellow onion
>Butter or spray a one quart casserole dish with vegetable spray
>Place alternating layers of potatoes and onions in casserole dish and
lightly season each layer with salt and pepper
>Preheat oven to 400 degrees
>Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium heat
>Mix 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and 1/2 tsp of salt together in a small bowl
>Add flour mixture to butter and whisk constantly for about one minute
>Stir in 2 cups of milk — I used organic, non-fat milk
>Cook until thickened, stirring constantly
>Add 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese, stir well for another minute or two
>Pour in 1 1/2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese and stir until melted, about one minute
>Pour cheese sauce over potatoes and onions in the casserole dish
>Cover with aluminum foil
>Bake at 400 degrees for 75 minutes. Remove foil. Bake another 15 minutes.
I believe this is a very typical au gratin potatoes recipe except for the ricotta cheese. The ricotta cheese was an addition that my father made to the recipe when I was a child.
My husband felt well enough to put together a simple green salad with sliced tomatoes and tossed with his homemade oil/vinegar/salt/pepper/Italian seasoning dressing.
I cheated again and made packaged biscuits.
For the family vegetarians, my granddaughter and me, the potatoes, salad, and biscuits were enough. but the meat-eaters needed more. The meat served in our home is always prepared by my husband. Being Argentinian, he usually chooses beef. Since he was not cooking, I chose pork chops and put my grandson in charge.
I’d recently purchased this Copper Chef pan:
My grandson had the honor of being the first family chef to use it!
He’s never cooked pork chops, and I haven’t made them in decades. I gave him the pan and the cookbook and left the rest to him. Of course, I stood nearby and kept an eye on the proceedings. Plus, my husband did not agree with the cookbook recipe requiring only salt and pepper for seasonings, so he instructed our young cook to also use Italian seasoning and lemon juice.
I had to take their word for it, but my grandson and husband declared the pork chops to be delicious. The copper pan allows the pork chops to fry without the use of oil, and cleaning the pan is a snap.
So, this odd week came to an end. Our displaced routines will be reinstated as we begin a new week and ease back into normal. The stress at home will lift, leaving us to wish that the trauma and tension in our nation would also abate and reminding us that, at times of social upheaval and insecurity, our personal routines help to us to remain rooted and grounded.
