Ingredients
- ~4 lbs of potatoes (I used red-skinned)
- 1 medium-sized onion, thinly sliced (could also use 1/2 onion and 1/2 leek)
- 1 c half-and-half
- 1 2/3 c milk (I used whole)
- ~1 1/2 tsp salt
- ~1/2 freshly ground black pepper
- few shakes of hot sauce/Tabasco sauce
- ~2 to 2 1/2 c of your favorite cheese (or combination of cheeses); I used sharp cheddar and Colby Jack (Gruyere, hot pepper, Gouda, fontina, etc. would be other good choices)
- 1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ~2 to 3 c of diced smoked ham
- Pre-heat oven to 375F. Wash all potatoes and peel all (or part) of them, depending on your peel preference (I peeled ~1/3 and left the others peel-on). Using the slicing blade of a mandolin, thinly slice the potatoes. Place the potato slices and onion in a large saute' pan or electric skillet. Add the half-and-half, milk, salt, pepper, and hot/Tabasco sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for ~6-8 minutes (stirring occasionally), or until the potatoes start to become fork-tender (but retain their shape).
- Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and transfer half of the potato-cream sauce mixture to the dish. Sprinkle with a little additional salt/pepper and add half of the ham; cover with half of the cheese/cheese combination. Add the remaining potato-cream mixture; lightly sprinkle with salt/pepper; add the remaining ham and top with the remaining cheese (including the Parmesan cheese). Cover with foil.
- Bake for 20 minutes, remove foil, then bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. I served this with roasted Brussels sprouts but any green vegetable would be a nice side dish.