Scallion Gratin

This tasty springtime side will have you craving seconds

Spring is prime time for scallions. Fresh local ones are available in farmers’ markets. And you can grow them easily in a home garden.

So why not give them a starring role at the table? This creamy, cheesy Scallion Gratin makes a great side dish for poultry, meat, or seafood.

But it’s so good, you may be tempted to double or triple the recipe – and make a meal out of it.

Chicken or Turkey Tetrazzini

This baked pasta favorite will liven up your leftovers

It’s November, so there may be turkey in your future. Which means turkey leftovers. Give them a home in this traditional pasta dish and no one will complain about eating remakes. 

And you don’t need to stop with turkey. Tetrazzini works with chicken too. Not to mention seafood and ham.

You may even want to save some leftovers and make this dish for dinner guests. That’s our favorite kind of recycling.

Pumpkin Gratin

This creamy, cheesy dish is like savory pumpkin pie

Can’t get enough pumpkin this time of year? Neither can we. Especially when it’s mixed with cream and gruyère in a savory side dish.

So remember: This pumpkin gratin would love an invitation to your next dinner party. Maybe as a plus one for ham or beef roast.

Or even turkey. We hear you may be serving that in a few weeks.

Corned Beef, Cabbage, and Potato Gratin

This easy casserole makes a one-dish St. Patrick’s Day meal

Ready for St. Pat’s Day? Craving some corned beef and cabbage, but don’t have the time to make it? We’ve got the solution.

This dish combines the three most popular elements of a traditional St. Patrick’s Day dinner – corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes – into one scrumptious dish. And you can use deli corned beef rather than cooking your own – a real time saver.

So you’ll have more time to celebrate. You lucky leprechaun, you.

Real-Chili Chili Mac Casserole

This cheesy gratin is comfort food for the whole family

Chili. Cheese. Pasta. Bring ‘em on!

And this dish does, in delicious combination. It’s a quick-bake casserole that makes a perfect cold-weather meal. It even gives you an excuse to use leftover chili.

You can have this dish on the table in about 30 minutes, so it’s great for weeknight dinners. But it’s tasty enough for company, too.

So take this along to your next pot-luck event. Like maybe your neighbor’s annual Super Bowl party. Who cares which team wins the game? You’ve won the meal.

Green Chile Cauliflower 'n Cheese

A slimmed down, kicked up twist on mac ‘n cheese

We love mac ‘n cheese. And it loves us back. So if we eat too much, it sticks to our ribs. Like, permanently.

So sometimes we make a healthier, less fattening version by substituting cauliflower for macaroni. The cheese keeps this dish from being truly low cal, of course. But you get the idea.

And this dish tastes great! Spicy green chilies love to snuggle with cheese, and both blend happily with cauliflower.

This dish makes a great side for a weeknight, or even a fancy weekend dinner. Plus, it’s hearty enough to serve as a main – just add salad for a complete meal.

And if you’re looking for a new dish to accompany your Thanksgiving turkey or ham? You just found it.

Kale and Cabbage Gratin

This Provençal-style charmer is a great starter, side, or main dish

We can almost hear you muttering to yourself: “Kale? And cabbage? In a gratin? Really?”

Yes, really. And this is one of the best dishes we’ve made in quite a while.

We don’t say that lightly. We tend to post only recipes that we like a lot. But even by that standard, this dish is extraordinary.

Best of all, kale and cabbage tend to be inexpensive this time of year. So you get tasty on a budget. Nice.

Celery Root (Celeriac) and Potato Gratin

Scalloped potatoes with ‘tude

Easter arrives in a few days, so menu planning is ramping up. Having a big roast? Or maybe baked ham or a leg of lamb? If you’re serving any of the above, you’ll probably want a rich, starchy side dish to go with it.

Scalloped potatoes are a popular choice, of course—and this dish takes them as a starting point. But then we add celery root (celeriac) to dial the flavor up a notch. We also add some sharp Gruyère and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and just a touch of zippy Dijon mustard.

The result is irresistibly good. But fair warning: If you’re feeding a holiday crowd, you may want to double this recipe. Otherwise, the serving dish might not make it all the way around the table.

Sweet Potato and Rosemary Casserole

Parmesan and cayenne ramp up this savory side

Sweet potato casseroles rule at Thanksgiving. Which is no surprise—they’re festive looking and tasty. But when topped with marshmallows (as they so often are), they’re sweet enough to serve as dessert.

So how about a savory alternative? This casserole highlights the deep, rich flavor of sweet potatoes—while rosemary adds a herbal note, Parmesan cheese provides richness, and cayenne pepper gives it just a bit of a kick.

You can do most of the prep and assembly work for this dish ahead of time (even the night before), and then just pop it into the oven when ready to serve.

Which makes it one less thing to worry about on the big day. Works for me!

Winter Squash Gratin

A hearty dish for fall and winter

When autumn arrives, grocers start to feature colorful, thick-skinned winter squash. Their variety seems endless:  hubbard, acorn, kabocha, butternut, turban. And of course pumpkin (a name many people use generically for winter squash, though here in the US, “pumpkin” refers specifically to the big orange-hued squash that we use to make Jack-o’-lanterns—and pie).

You can often use the various types of winter squash interchangeably. Although their flavors and textures may differ somewhat, they all bear a close family resemblance. Certainly all of them work in a dish like this savory gratin, where the deep flavor of squash combines well with sharp Gruyère cheese.

This dish is almost a meal in itself, but it also makes a terrific side for roast fowl or baked ham. So it’s a handy recipe to have on hand when you start planning Thanksgiving and Christmas menus.

But you might want to prepare this dish right away—just to test it out, you know. You’ll be glad you did, because the flavor is wonderful. And you can pat yourself on the back for planning ahead.

Fennel and Tomato Gratin

Olives Add Zing to this Provençal Dish

When I think about the flavors of Provence, I think of sweet tomatoes, fragrant herbs, and salty olives.  Oh, there are plenty of other Provençal foods, too.  But for me, these three ingredients conjure the essence of southeastern France.

Fennel is also popular in Provence.  That isn’t surprising, since it plays so nicely with tomatoes and olives.  And the longer you cook it, the sweeter and mellower it becomes.  So it’s a no brainer to combine all these ingredients in a gratin.  Topped with flavorful cheese, they make a great sidekick for roast or grilled meat, chicken, or seafood.

This flexible dish is ideal for busy schedules.  You can make it partially ahead.  Plus, it tastes equally good hot from the oven or cooled to room temperature, so no split-second timing is required.  

And the flavor?  Well, you’ll think you’re in the south of France.  Without having to buy a plane ticket.

Gratin Dauphinois

French for Fancy Scalloped Potatoes

OK, there’s a slight difference:  Scalloped Potatoes often are sliced more thickly, and the dish can be made without cheese.  Gratin Dauphinois always contains cheese — which helps make it rich and creamy.

But if you know how to make Scalloped Potatoes, you already know how to make Gratin Dauphinois.  And even if you don’t know how to make Scalloped Potatoes, no worries:  This is an easy dish.

When you bring your Scalloped Potatoes Gratin Dauphinois to the table and tell your guests what you’re serving, they’ll be impressed.  What a fancy dish!  French, too.  Who knew you were such an accomplished cook? 

But just wait until they taste it.  You’ll want to cover your ears, because their cheering will be that loud.