Weekend Recipe Review - Julia Child's Ham and Potato Casserole

I think this adaptation of Julia Child's Sausage and Potato Casserole, or Gratin de Pommes de Terre et Saucisson, I found over at Black Fox Homestead must be simplicity at it's best.

I was a little nervous that it would be too eggy for my husband, who sometimes can't handle eggs well, and almost cut the eggs to two.  He loved it, though.  It was perfectly cheesy and creamy and salty.  I used a bit of leftover ham from Easter that I've been saving in the back of my freezer.  We don't eat a lot of ham, so it's lasted us quite a while.  Another meat that I think would be good in this is some bulk sausage (the original recipe calls for polish sausage.)  We ate it with a side of green peas.  Next time I think I'll do a small green salad instead.  We needed a little crunch to go with the soft bite of this dish.

I did not look up the original recipe, which came from The French Chef, but followed the adaptation exactly, with one minor exception.  I did add about 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese to the cream mixture.  The only explanation there is that it seemed like the right thing to do.  Also because I was in a hurry and my pie dish is difficult to dig out, I did opt to use a large shallow casserole dish instead.  It did not seem like the right thing to do, but it worked out anyway.  Pretty sure this will become a recipe that makes its way into the regular rotation.

Bon Appétit!