Saffron scented Potatoes au Gratin with Asparagus

This au gratin dish is from a vegan cooking class at Spork Foods I took with a vegan-friend several years ago. I have made it many times, and usually stick to the recipe because I typically have soy milk and fake-butter on hand. This time, I just felt like making it full-fat, full animal version. And I was inspired because my coworker just gave me some Saffron that she recently brought back from a trip to Dubai. My husband has also been pretty fired up lately about Steak Friday, and of course, potatoes and steak are such a great pair!

 

They turned out great, but I was wondering what they would taste like if I had used a waxy potato instead of a russet (which is what the recipe called for). A quick google search shows that most recipes call for russets, but there are a few for red potatoes, or unspecified ones. No complaints from the husband or our company about the final product. In fact, our friend commented that he would not change a thing because they were perfect. So for next time, I guess I can use whatever looks best at the market and make my decision then.

Something old/Something new

I just spent way too long writing and rewriting a post about two dishes that I made over the weekend, which did not turn out quite the way I had wanted. It happens. I've decided that all I really need to write about these is two lines for next time, to be noted on the recipes themselves:

Saffron Scented Potato Gratin with Asparagus: must cook until finished (no day-before partial cooking unless you want still-crunchy potatoes)

Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies:  watch oven temperature carefully, adjust timing as needed, do not overcook.

Now - on to my huge success of the weekend: GUMBO! Damn was it good! The recipe is from Mr. B's cookbook for Gumbo Ya-Ya. I did "ya-ya" whilst constantly stirring the roux, you have to do something. I talked to my brother, my husband, my dog, checked facebook, and listened to a podcast during the 1.5 hours it took to achieve the right darkish-mahogany color. The end result was soooo worth all that stirring and attention to detail up front. The only thing I changed from the recipe was that I threw in shrimp instead of chicken because I just wasn't in the mood for bird. I used raw frozen shrimp, thawed in the fridge for a couple hours, thrown in during the last 5 minutes of simmering. Here are some pictures:

Preparations

Plated

I bought French bread at lunch today for dipping, and I cannot wait to get home for leftovers tonight!