Tim came home and wanted to know what I was making for dinner. The news that potatoes gratin was part of the menu brought a hearty endorsement from him, much to my surprise. "That's the one with the thin sliced potatoes, right?" he asked, before giving his approval.

It's definitely unusual to have one of my male children say they like something I cook so I was somewhat surprised - and a bit nervous  because, unbeknownst to the family, I changed up my potatoes gratin recipe, using one from Smitten Kitchen. In my usual pessimistic way, I had visions of Tim having a fit when he first tasted the difference in this dish, as compared to the one I've been making.

Well, to heck with Tim! For all my trepidation prior to serving and eating Deb's recipe, I LOVED the potatoes. Loved in that way where I could've easily taken a spoon and eaten up every bit of what was left in the pan. Heaven in a casserole pan.

Not only was the dish yummy, it also gave me a strange sense of accomplishment in the preparation of all the ingredients. While Deb bills it as her "Simple Potatoes Gratin" there was one highly tricky step. I had to, gasp, season the potato layers with an UNSPECIFIED amount of salt and pepper. WHAT???? Me, the Follow the Recipe Queen being put in the position of rakishly throwing in seasoning, with no care whatsoever for exact measurements???? Deb said to be liberal with the salt and pepper so I was - and the results were really, really, really good.