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Ham and Scalloped Potatoes

So I am cheating.  I actually make this dish this spring.  Who makes a heavy potato dish in the spring?  This girl.  Because she wanted to clean out the random meats she was acquiring in her freezer.  In this case it was 2 ham steaks i had ordered from the farmer.  I am not really sure what I intended to do with them but they had been in the freezer for several months so it was time for them to go.  I started to google and didn't really find a single recipe I loved so this was a bit of an experiment.  But I failed on taking pictures.  I took a picture of the butter as it started to melt.  And then the finished product.  I was actually cooking several things this day and got pictures of everything else. Just not this.  You can sort of see it from the last picture but I had arranged my potatoes so beautifully.  When they were cold, they were perfectly formed solid layers that I was able to toss in the freezer.  But I don't have a picture, so its as though it didn't happen.  Here is what I used to make my ham and scalloped potatoes
  • 5-6 very large russet potatoes sliced via mandolin 
  • 2 tables spoons butter
  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • 2 large ham steaks, cubed
  • 1 pint half and half
  • 1 pint heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons flour or arrow root powder
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella (lots of options but this was all I had on hand, next time I would use parmesan and a sharp cheddar) 
First step is actually to slice up all the potatoes with a mandolin.  I did this out of order and it caused my sauce to get cold and lumpy while I had to stop it so I could finish slicing potatoes.  This always takes me a minute so I then preheat the oven after this, I like it at 400.

My ham was smoked so I didnt' have to cook it but it cut it up before you make your sauce.

Once that is done, melt the butter in the skillet.  Add in the onions and cook for about 2-3 minutes on medium-low heat.  Then add in heavy cream and half and half.  Whisk that for about a minute then add in your flour or arrow root powder.  Arrow root powder is what we used to use to thicken things before corn starch came along.  Corn starch is cheaper and more common now but corn and I don't get along so I try and take it out when ever possible.  Continue whisking for about 4-5 minutes or until sauce thickens.  Add in pepper to your preferred taste.



Next you begin building your masterpiece.  Start with a buttered 9x13 baking pan and layer 1/3 of the potatoes down.  I overlapped them so they stayed firmly together.  Add one layer of sauce, then cheese and then ham.  Repeat 2 more times.  Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.  For the last 20, you can take the foil off so you get the nice crispy shell on top.  


I was pretty impressed with how it turned out.  I will probably make it again this winter or maybe at easter next year.  My only issue is, the potatoes.  We don't eat a lot of carbs during the day, we try to limit them to after training.  Mostly because the carb crash and work is terrible.  So this was a great meal for after training but not so great for lunch the next day.  Unless you can take a nap.

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