Ranch Scalloped Potatoes

Brianna's week. Mid-September. Pop had a bad spell Tuesday — blood sugar dropped, almost passed out at the kitchen table. Cheryl caught him. Got juice into him. He came around in twenty minutes. They went to the doctor Wednesday. Doctor adjusted his meds again. Said his diabetes was getting harder to manage. Recommended he start checking his sugar more often. Pop hates checking his sugar. He'll do it because Cheryl will make him.

I went over Wednesday night to sit with him. He was in the recliner, tired, but lucid. I sat in the chair next to him. We watched the Tigers lose. He said, "Boy, you cooking good?" I said yeah. He said, "You should write down those recipes for your kids." I said I would. He said, "Don't wait. You write them down now." I nodded. We watched the rest of the game in silence.

Driving home I cried in the car. I called Mama from the driveway. I said, "Mama, is Pop dying?" She was quiet. Then she said, "DeShawn, your father is sick. He may have years left. He may have months. We don't know. But yes, baby, eventually he's dying. Aren't we all." I said I wasn't ready. She said, "Nobody ever is."

Friday I made myself dinner — keeping it simple. Pan-fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans. Marc's favorite, again. I keep coming back to this meal when life gets heavy.

Saturday I started a recipe notebook — actual notebook, the kind with the speckled black-and-white cover, that I'd buy for the kids' school supplies. I wrote down the smothered chicken recipe. The dry rub. The mac and cheese. The greens. The cornbread. The peach cobbler. The pulled pork. By Saturday night I had twelve recipes written down. I had two hundred more in my head.

Sunday at Mama's. She made oxtails. I helped her. Pop ate two helpings. Then he fell asleep in the recliner, and I covered him with a blanket, and Mama and I sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee and not saying much. Sometimes the silence is the conversation.

Pop told me Wednesday night — “Don’t wait. You write them down now.” So Saturday I sat down with that speckled notebook and started doing exactly that. This ranch scalloped potatoes recipe was one of the first sides I added, because it’s the kind of thing I’ve made alongside pork chops a hundred times without ever measuring a thing — and that’s exactly the kind of recipe that disappears if you don’t pin it down. Rich, creamy, the sort of dish that makes a plate feel complete. Pop would eat two helpings of this too.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 1 hr | Total Time: 1 hr 20 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick
1 oz packet dry ranch seasoning mix
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the baking dish
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere or Monterey Jack cheese
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh chives, sliced (for garnish)

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Heat oven to 375°F. Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. Slice potatoes thin and uniform — a mandoline helps but a steady knife works fine.
Make the ranch cream. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant. Pour in the heavy cream and milk. Whisk in the dry ranch seasoning packet. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Warm until just steaming, about 4 minutes — do not boil. Remove from heat.
Layer the potatoes. Arrange one-third of the potato slices in an even layer in the prepared baking dish, overlapping slightly. Pour one-third of the ranch cream over the top. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of cheddar. Repeat two more times, ending with the cream layer on top.
Top with cheese. Scatter the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar and all of the Gruyere over the top of the dish. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Bake covered. Place on the center rack and bake covered for 45 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife.
Brown the top. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown at the edges.
Rest and serve. Let the dish rest 10 minutes before serving so the cream sets up. Garnish with fresh chives. Serve alongside pork chops, roasted chicken, or any main that needs a serious side next to it.

Nutrition (per serving)

Ranch Scalloped Potatoes — Writing It Down Before It’s Too Late