Justin Time Recipe 1 Jalapeno Au Gratin Potatoes

                                                                                                          

In my novel, Justin's father William, was a renown chef. I will be posting some of his recipes. Many of these dishes can be found in Chapter 2 as he cooked a 9 course meal for his wife on their 10th year anniversary. 

Link to Chapter 2: https://steemit.com/fiction/@justephen/justin-time-chapter-2-an-original-novel

Link to Chapter 1: https://steemit.com/fiction/@justephen/justin-time-chapter-1-an-original-novel

Jalapeno Au Gratin Potatoes

Ingredients:

6 Medium sized yellow potatoes

16 ounces   Sharp cheddar cheese

16 ounces   Monterrey jack cheese. 

16 ounces Cream cheese. (Slightly melted)

12 ounces Canned pickled whole jalapeno peppers

You will also need a 2 quart casserole dish.

1. Peel the potatoes and boil them until they are tender or half cooked. (over cooking them will make mashed potatoes)

2. Let cool for about 15 minutes and then thinly slice the potatoes. 

3. While the potatoes are cooling, open the canned Jalapenos keeping the juice. Many of these cans come with carrots or onions which you can discard.

4. Slice open and remove the seeds from the Jalapenos. Then thinly slice them. 

In a large bowl, mix:

The thinly cut potatoes

8 ounces of Sharp cheddar cheese

8 ounces of Monterrey jack cheese

16 ounces of cream cheese (Slightly melted will make mixing much easier.)

jalapenos (How many you use, depends on how spicy you want.)

Half cup of the jalapeno juice. (More if you want extra spicy)

Although messy, you may find using your hands works best as you do not want to break or mash the potatoes. Slowly and carefully fold the mixture together. 

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Cover with foil and cook until the potatoes cooked all the way through. (About an hour. It is okay to periodically check the potatoes with a fork.)

Once the potatoes are cooked all the way through, take casserole dish out of the oven and put the remaining Sharp cheddar cheese and Monterrey jack cheese over the top. (For some people that may not want that much cheese. You can do less if you would like. Personally I LOVE cheese.

Keep the foil OFF and turn oven to 450 degrees. Once the cheese on top melts and has slight browning it is ready.

An important note:

Depending on the dimensions of the casserole dish, changes cooking time. If you have a deep casserole dish, it will take longer. A shallow casserole dish will cook quicker. 

Let rest for 10 minutes and then serve.