Does she like celery root? It is one of my favorites, which is why I like this recipe. I have only made it once, but I thought it was great.

http://www.kitchenriffs.com/2014/04/celery-root-celeriac-and-potato-gratin.html

Ellen, I've seen recipes that use chicken stock in place of milk or cream. I wonder if this would work for your daughter. I saw America's Test Kitchen do it last week.

Thanks MTN and jasdip.
Jasdip, chicken stock would not work. My oldest actually reads ingredients! Arrghh. Youngest who has been a vegetarian longer will not be so strict and will eat something that might have chicken stock in the ingredients.

Ellen! I'm so sorry, I don't know what I was thinking! Of course chicken stock would be a no-no. I should delete my post, it's so silly. :~/

Scalloped potatoes recipe
Proper Gratin Dauphinois!
gratin Ingredients:
- 1.5 kg of potatoes
- 100 g of butter
- 5 g . garlic
- 3 dl cream
- 1 Milk bed
- Salt and pepper
- Nutmeg (optional).

- Peel the potatoes , wash , chop the (fairly thin slices ), do not run them under water after the cut ( remove the starch and gratin fail to link).
- Boil the milk with garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
- Lay the sliced âÂÂâÂÂpotatoes in the boiling milk seasoned and cook ten minutes (watch this preparation tends to "stick" ) .
- Put in a buttered gratin dish , pour the cream on top , place the butter into small pieces and place in a low oven ( gas mark 6 ) for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Well Ellendi, here is someplace I can assist you! Here's my "tried and true" recipe for "Different Scalloped Potatoes." They have a tad more vegetarian protein in them. Yummy but kinda fussy so I rarely make them!

Serves 4

Ingredients:
3 med. sized potatoes (a baking kind)
1/4 lb. mushrooms, sliced
2 TBLSP butter
2 TBLSP whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups milk
4 oz. cheddar (I cup)
1 TBLSP soy sauce or tamari
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch pepper
3 hard boiled eggs, sliced

Pare and cut potatoes into 1/2 inch slices, cook in salted water to cover until tender. drain and reserve. Cook the eggs too.

Saute mushrooms in butter, sprinkle flour over and brown that, gradually stir in the milk til thick and add the cheese til melted. Add the seasonings. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly til mixture comes to a simmer.

Place 1/2 sliced potatoes in a greased 6 cup baking dish, spread 1/2 eggs on top, pour sauce over. Repeat.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 min. Top with sunflower seeds for the last ten minutes.

If I were to make this nowdays, I think I would put toasted sunflower seeds in the food processor, grind them up and mix with olive oil, parmesean and bread crumbs and use as a crumble topping. Or you could use some ground almonds the same way. I also might add some onions in with the mushrooms, and a pinch of mild curry powder if I wanted something a little more spicy.

@islay_corbel: Avez-vous oublie le fromage?

I love Pomme de Terre Dauphinois. Here's a recipe adapted from Julia Child's -- I add onion to mine and use "mi-sale" gruyere -- it's aged, a bit more firm and sharp tasting.

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees. rub a cut garlic clove on the inside of the dish. generously butter.
2. slice 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes 1/8 thick. don't soak.
3. Bring to simmer 2 cups half and half, 1/2 cup cream, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 medium onion thinly sliced. (some people remove the onions after they have steeped -- I do not). Add potatoes, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes. Optionally, you can add 1/8" tsp of nutmeg.
4. transfer potatoes to the baking dish, putting a layer of gruyere (2-4 ounces, grated) in the center and some on top (2-4 oz or more, grated). Cover with the remaining milk/cream till the top is covered. bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

you can use a lower temp if you are baking alongside a roast but you may need to finish with a blast of heat. I have also done the shortcut method, which is just to layer the ingredients in the pan and cover with the cream/milk mixture -- less tasty but quicker.

Jasdip was on the right track. Just make a standard scalloped potato recipe but use vegetable broth instead of milk or cream. Instead of butter, use a vegetable oil margarine or coconut oil. Including some sauteed onions or mushrooms would be nice. A sprinkle of veggie cheese shreds or nutritional yeast powder on top would add some interest. Or some breadcrumbs sauteed in olive oil with an assortment of fresh or dry herbs and garlic would make any interesting topping. It would be vegetarian and tasty.

What's a milk bed?

Gooster - a gratin Dauphinois doesn't have cheese or onions!!!You can call one with cheese and onions "gratin de pommes de terre" but not dauphinois! That's why I said it was a proper one. the people from that region of France are very proud of their regional speciality.

With cheese, it would be a gratin Savoyard.

Is your daughter a vegetarian or a vegan? Quite a difference in terms of acceptable food.

l learned to make scalloped potatoes the way my mom did... she'd start by scalding some milk, then she'd layer peeled/sliced potatoes, add some chopped onions, sprinkle with flour, dot with butter, salt & pepper, and splash on some scalded milk. Repeat. lol!

A few years ago I tried the scalloped potato recipe that's in the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook and liked it much better than my mom's version (lol!). I just wing some variation of that now.... it's a basic white sauce, onions, and parmesan cheese. :)

Yes, if your daughters are vegan, well then it's a whole other ball game. When I make vegan gratins, I usually use a tomato sauce of some kind. I do both potato and butternut squash that way. Would probably work for eggplant and zucchini too. Bread and fry them and you're on your way to another dish . . .

My favorite au gratin recipe is linked below. You'll see some reviews stating that it's soupy, but you have to whisk the roux and milk until thickened before pouring over the potatoes. It's decadent, so I only make it for special occasions ;) The sauce is wonderful over vegetables, too.

I've been reading Chowhound in concert with this board and someone over there asked about a Tian. Would work for vegan, without the cheese, and vegetarian alike.

Tian

Here is a link that might be useful: Au Gratin Potatoes on food.com

@islay_corbel -- I'm so sorry! Thank you for clarifying with me the difference. Perhaps we can blame the Swiss in the are I lived for adding cheese to the the typical dish and calling it Dauphinoise-- though I'm certain many called it correctly a gratinee --- also, in the Haute Savoie I'm guessing they more commonly served PdT Savoyard.

All over that part of France they eat cheese til it comes out of their ears. Lovely stuff. And lots of inventive recipes, many with potatoes. Love it!

Thanks everyone. I did say vegetarian, not vegan. One daughter did try that and it was an absolute horror. They both eat dairy products, thank goodness.

I love J. Kenji Lopez-Alt of SeriousEats.com. Not only a great cook but one of the most hysterically funny food writers around. He just published this potato gratin that sounds fabulous (I haven't tried it yet, but his other recipes have been excellent).

The link is to the explanatory column, at the bottom is the link to the actual recipe:

Here is a link that might be useful: The Food Lab: Hasselback Potato Gratin

That looks so good. It's breakfast time here and I could eat it now LOL

A variation that I like (and a little healthier) is gratinated cauliflower with cheese.
What part of France are you from, islay_corbel? I've traveled all over the south and east - just wondering if I've been to your part of the country :).

This post was edited by Slimy_Okra on Sat, Dec 6, 14 at 3:57

I tell you, this mostly vegetarian would be over the moon if someone took the time and trouble to make Kenji's hasselback scalloped potato recipe for me! I wonder if it would be good with sweet potatoes? Maybe with a little sauteed red onion in the white sauce and a dash of cayenne? Serve that to me with a black bean patty plated over young greens lightly coated in balsamic and evoo, and some steamed or roasted broccoli, and I would be a very happy camper.

Slimy, I'm English - I come from Oxford but I've lived in Brittany for 25 years - along way from where you've visited here! But, you should come over. It's fantastic here! I used to holiday near Grasse for many years. I would like to live somewhere just a little warmer lol but it's so beautiful here I'll just have to put up with the cold.