I wanted to try making cheesy potatoes, but without cream of anything soup. Should be a lot like macaroni and cheese right? Yup.

Basic ingredients.

Black pepper and a hint of cayenne.

I got my Breville Peel and Dice Compatibility kit about a year ago, and I still had not tried the peel function. So I thought this would be a great opportunity to do that (since I only wanted my potatoes rough peeled it would be a good time for an experiment).

This attachment kit goes with the Breville Sous Chef. This thing is amazing.

And it did exactly what I wanted it to. My potatoes were quite irregular, but I still feel like it did a good job. This took about two minutes, and it’s four pounds of potato. If the potatoes had been rounder/more regularly shaped (I mean these were gnarly) and I had let it go a little longer they’d have been quite good.

And using the dice function…

The whole thing was done in just under five minutes. Pretty amazing and the cubes looked pretty darn good for dicing something that’s round or oval!

Par boiled the potatoes for just one minute and ran under cold water.

Saute about a cup of diced onion in 1/4 cup butter.

Add 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour and cook for a minute.

Added 3 cups of milk (warmed in the microwave), spices, and a tablespoon Maggi Chicken base. Heat until thickened, and add a cup and a half of sour cream.

12 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese. I used sharp.

Add to potatoes and add all to a half pan. Yes, the cheese is white. Real cheddar is white, the orange stuff just has coloring added to it.

I baked this at 300 for about an hour and 15 minutes (my guests were late) then upped the temperature to 350 to get a nice browning on top. I did not cover with foil because I wanted to drive off some of the moisture and to have a nice brown top. This picture is terrible, but these were delicious.
The tragic ending to this story. The day after Easter (I made the potatoes for Easter brunch) we came home after work. My husband was petting one of the dogs, and noted gosh he’s gaining a lot of weight, look how fat his belly is. Shortly after I was getting ready to prepare a delicious leftover meal, and couldn’t find the potatoes anywhere. I asked my son (who had been home all day) if he knew where they were. He said he’d taken some out to have a snack, left them on the dining room table, and one of the corgis had jumped up and eaten it all, a three-quarters full half pan!! I’m pretty sure it was Brutus based on how distended his belly was and the fact that every time I walked by him that night, he looked like he was in pain, and belched. Ay yi yi.

Scratch Cheesy Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 pounds of potatoes rough peeled and diced
- 1 cup onions diced
- 3 cups milk
- 1 ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon Maggi chicken base
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper to taste
- 16 ounces Sharp Cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Par boil potatoes for a minute, then run under cold water to cool. Sautee onions in butter until translucent. Add flour and cook for a minute. Add milk that’s been warmed in a microwave and cook until thickened. Add sour cream and spices and mix in. Add cheese and stir until melted. Mix cheese sauce with potatoes and add to a half pan. Cook in preheated 300 degree Fahrenheit oven (uncovered) for 1 hour 10 minutes. Turn temperature up to 350 and cook until browned on top.
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