Renaissance by Reyes 2013 Sauvignon Blanc and Au Gratin Potatoes

By Beth P. Heiserman

Comfort food sure helps us through this tough time. Comfort food should offer solace or a feeling of well-being, and sometimes memories of childhood. My mom would prepare this delicious dish with roast chicken and givetch, a Romanian mixed vegetable dish.

This week, I have been going through these special dishes and preparing them for us. I have been wondering what if my mom were here to be going through this with us and what she would do. I do know that we still have cleaning supplies that she purchased, and she has been gone for three years now. Every time I finish one and open another, I think of her. She was always afraid to run out.

Right now, most of us are cooking from our pantry and not shopping for ingredients to make a recipe. Most of us seem to have access to vegetables at the market fairly easy like potatoes and onions. Slowly, I have seen more items like flour and milk. Even yesterday, we went shopping and my dad and I were so excited we saw several aisles of paper towels.

The hardest part of the recipe is waiting for it took bake while you smell the fantastic aromas. I love to eat these, but most recipes tend to be very fattening, so I have altered it slightly to make it low fat. You can’t skimp on the cheese, but you can on the milk.

Ingredients

3 tsp of butter

3 tsp of flour

4 medium sized creamer potatoes

1 onion, sliced thinly

3 cloves of garlic, minced

¼ cup Reyes 2013 Sauvignon Blanc

2 ½ cups non fat milk

1 ½ tsp of kosher salt

2 tsp of white pepper

1 tsp nutmeg

2 cups of cheddar cheese, shredded (I use Lakeland or Dubliner cheddar)

3 potatoes, sliced very thinly

1/4 cup of panko crumbs

Directions

1. Melt butter in large sauce pan.
2. Sauté onions until they have some color, but still slightly hard. (about 7-10 minutes)
3. Add garlic; continue to sauté for 2 minutes.
4. Add ¼ cup of Reyes 2013 Sauvignon Blanc
5. Remove onions and garlic.
6. If the pan needs more butter add another 2 tbsp of butter.
7. Whisk in flour until combined.
8. Whisk non-fat milk until blended. Then cook for 5 minutes and slowly whisk in 2013 Sauvignon Blanc.
9. Add salt, white pepper, nutmeg and parsley
10. Continue to cook until thick.
11. Turn off heat.
12. Add cheese slowly and continue to whisk until combined.
13. Spray non stick cooking spray into a 9×9 baking pan.
14. thinly slice potatoes with the skin on.
15. Spread mixture into dish.
16. Sprinkle Panko bread crumbs on Casserole.
17. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes covered with aluminum foil.
18. Bake 10 minutes uncovered.
19. Serve with a glass of 2013 Renaissance by Reyes Sauvignon Blanc. Cheers!