“Potatoes, mash em, boil em, stick em in a stew”

Potatoes of any kind are one way to both Samwise Gamgee and Aaron’s hearts. This scalloped potatoes recipe also involves cream and paprika, so I’m pretty sure it’s the way to anyone’s heart.

We have our first guest post here on Marguerite’s Cookbook!

Let me explain.  There are handfuls of recipes in Marguerite’s cookbook that she added from the kitchens of other people in her life.  We decided the authors of this recipe would be a great place to introduce this feature.  The ladies who gave Marguerite this recipe were her Aunt Florence and Aunt Estella.  They were younger sisters of her father, and they were both good cooks whose cooking made it into Marguerite’s cookbook a number of times.  Now, back to the scalloped potatoes.

Here’s what Florence and Estella had to say (in their handwriting):

We actually attempted this recipe twice.  The only differences between the two times we made this were that the second time we did not skin the potatoes, and we added more paprika to the top of the dish.  I did not notice a major difference in the taste with or without the skins, but Aaron did prefer it without the potato skins.

Now, other than the time consuming processes of skinning and thinly slicing the potatoes, this is an extremely simple recipe.  When arranging the layers, you could take your time and arrange the potato slices in a neat and orderly pattern.  We chose to just toss them in and let them fall however they wanted!

The first time we made these potatoes was over the holidays with our parents.  They all enjoyed them too.  We had them the second time just the two of us and had them with a few different meals.  The final verdict: these scalloped potatoes are a delicious addition to any meal.

Thanks Florence and Estella!