A Highly Variable X Recipe: A Highly Variable Scalloped Potatoes Recipe

Exams are over. Or mostly over, if you’re taking some weird course that has nothing to do with engineering. Whatever. Settle yourself down and have a nice hot meal. You deserve it.

What does a nice meal consist of? Well, cheese, for a start. No meal is complete without cheese in some form or other. Unless it’s a bowl of cereal…. Or sushi… Or stir fry….

Ahem. The best meals contain inordinate amounts of cheese. Also, you will need some starch. No, not bread. This is not a grilled cheese recipe. You don’t need a recipe for grilled cheese. Anyway, scalloped potatoes are far, far better than grilled cheese. If you don’t believe me, give it a try.

You will first need butter, flour, and a saucepan. Melt the butter in the saucepan, and stir in an approximately equal amount of flour. Don’t burn it. Use only a few tablespoons of each. Add a cup or so of milk to the sauce, and stir it in with a whisk if you have one.

Cook your sauce on a low heat until it is thick and smooth. It should be boiling. Then, reduce the heat even more, and stir in some cheese. Lots of cheese. I trust you to be reasonable here.

Spice it up. Put in some paprika, herbs, elemental sulphur, cinnamon (yes, cinnamon- it may sound odd, but it’s fine), olives, and whatever else you feel like. It doesn’t matter what spices you do or do not use, but don’t forget to put in a teaspoonful of salt.

You should have sliced some potatoes beforehand. Line your pan in whichever dish it pleases you to use; the dish should be greased. A Bundt pan is non-ideal. Pour half the sauce over the potato lining, and build up another layer on top of the sauce. The rest of the sauce goes on top of the second layer.

Remember what I said about cheese? Get some more cheese and sprinkle it on top of everything. Bake the whole thing at 350 Fahrenheit for about an hour- you can be the judge of how soft you want the potatoes to be. Stab them with a fork to judge.

Take out your potatoes and eat them while they are hot. I recommend pairing this dish with a dry red.

The excellent thing about scalloped potatoes is that they stay good for several days, both hot and cold. You can have quite a few excellent lunches this way (Although if you have class, I do not recommend a dry red).