Easter Potatoes - sort of

Happy Easter Everyone!  Hope the Easter Bunny brought you real, solid chocolate bunnies, and not the crappy, hollow, waxy stuff!  My Easter Bunny told me that he only provides Jelly Beans - and that those are only for the dog!!

So, this year for Easter, my husband and I went to his family's house.  I'm always worried about how adventurous other people are going to be, not to mention the inherent panic of cooking for one's in-laws, but I asked to bring the potato(ish) dish.  Those are the exact words I asked my husband to use: "Potato-ish."

So, I brought a Root Vegetable Gratin, with WI cheeses.  It was good, but a little runny.  I wonder if maybe one of the cheeses wasn't good for melting?  Or perhaps one of the root vegetables gave off too much water.  I'm going to have to play with this one!

Regardless, I think it was a success.  No one asked "What is this?  This is clearly not potatoes!" after taking one bite.  And no one said "gross" after I told them what it was.  

100% local, with the exception of one sweet potato!

Root Vegetable Gratin

Serves 8-10; more if you have enough other food to feed an army!

• 1 Tbs. unsalted butter,  plus additional for dish
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups heavy cream
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 lb. parsnips, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
• 1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch
    thick
• 1 lb. celery root, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick 
• 1 lb. turnips, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
• 8 oz. (or more) cheese, shredded.  I used a combination of Carr Valley Cheeses.
• 1 Tbs. minced fresh chives
• 3 Tbs. minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preheat an oven to 400°F. Butter a 3-quart baking dish.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg and heat just until bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes.

Arrange a layer of parsnips, slightly overlapping, in the prepared dish. Arrange a layer of sweet potatoes on top, then a layer of turnips, then a layer of celery root. Pour half of the cream mixture over the celery root, and sprinkle half of the cheese, thyme and parsley on top. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil, place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and lightly press the gratin down with a spatula. Continue baking until the vegetables are tender and the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes more. Let the gratin stand for 15 minutes before serving.