Friday, October 11, 2019

Potatoes Romanoff - This Didn't Stay in Vegas

They say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, but that’s mostly because people just don’t remember exactly what happened. Happily, that’s not the case with this incredible Potatoes Romanoff recipe. About 10 years ago, I took a trip to Las Vegas with a group of food writers, and while I don’t recall much, I do remember learning how to make this ingenious potato gratin from Chef John Schenk, at his restaurant, Strip House.

He credits his Mom for the recipe, but the shallots and white pepper scream, “This was adapted by a restaurant chef!” Which reminds me, if you do use shallots for this, be careful. Since they go in raw, a little will go a long way. To play it safe, you can always sauté them in a little butter to take off the sharp, raw edge. Besides shallots, some thinly sliced green onions would be great, as would sautéed leeks, or even just finely minced yellow onions.

This would be a great side dish for those large holiday gatherings, since it can be made the day before, and then baked when needed. And as I said in the video, you can embellish this with all sorts of stuff, including such obvious choices as bacon, or fresh herbs, but no matter how you personalize it, I really hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 8 portions:
3 very large russet potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds), scrubbed clean
1/4 to 1/3 cup minced shallots, raw, or sautéed for a milder flavor
3 teaspoons kosher salt (or 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons fine salt)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, or freshly ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne
2 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese
1 3/4 cups sour cream

- Bake at 425 F. for 30-35 minutes, or until browned and piping hot.
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31 comments:

John Cortens said...

What happens if I use Manitoba red skinned potato which I have instead of russet which I don’t?

Surferbob644 said...

Going to give this a try. Love the videos. The Blog website could use a recipe print option.

Guerilla Surgeon said...

The man knows how to do Yorkshire Pudding, so I'm going to try this.

Donna Nguyen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Donna Nguyen said...

Love watching your youtube videos. Eating sour cream gives me bad digestion problems. Is there a substitute for sour cream?

beefster said...

Can't wait to try this! Maybe next to some crab legs and asparagus...

Might want to add, in the blog text, the baking and chilling step before grating the potatoes - just so nobody gets the wrong idea and tries it a la hash browns!

beefster said...

Can't wait to try this next to some crab legs and asparagus! Maybe swapping creme fraiche for sour cream, adding bacon and topping with some parm...

Chef John you might want to add the potato baking and chilling step to the blog text, someone might skip the video and try this a la hash browns!

Turtle said...

I think that most of the cooking instructions are missing because apparently all we do is bake things.

junewl said...

just in time for the holidays, thank you, Chef John

Matt Kach said...

I couldn’t decide on which white cheddar to go with. I had Cabot, Kerrygold, Cracker Barrel, etc. in my cart. I ended up going with Cracker Barrel Vermont Sharp Cheddar. Do you have any recommendations?

Enrico, With my two best friends said...

Looks Great!! I will first try this with undercooked, out of the casing, sausage and, may be add mushrooms to the sausage mix. Then it can be a super great main dish.

Unknown said...

In all the years of watching your videos you have never once even mentioned microwave. Is there a reason? I personally don't use microwave because I don't trust it. Now everybody is talking about Instapot as if pressure cookers haven't been around forever, but you don't use that either.

Laura K said...

If we don't have time to wait overnight for the potatoes to cool, what would be the equivalent time in the freezer (or a sufficient time in the fridge?)

ALCO holic said...

This recipe is FANTASTIC! It melted my Irish wife's heart.

Unknown said...

Adding this as my potato side this year for Turkey Day. I may add some chopped thick cut bacon to the dish. Thanks for posting.

Lisa said...

This looks awesome, Chef John! I live in Ireland where we have tons of types of potatoes, but no russets. What is it about the russets that are essential? I will use that information to find an Irish equivalent. Thanks!

Mozella said...

Made this tonight with yellow cheddar. I used half shallots and half green onions and topped the dish with Parmesan. It went well with a big chunk of roast beef.

Jon said...

For the potatoes, you could start grating from one side and then switch to the other so you get most of the skin incorporated. Potato skins are cool, after all.

Jon.

Unknown said...

Oh... My goodness. This tastes fantastic! And it was so quick and easy to prepare (not including the potato chilling time, for those who haven't watched the video).I've made quite a few of your recipes, and they are all very tasty, thank you for sharing, past, present, and future!

Quiet Corner Daily Homes said...

Thanks Chef John!
Made this with the steak recommendation.
PERFECT
My husband says now I’m ready to open a restaurant. Last year I could not boil water!
I am attempting to make every recipe on your blog, I love it!

Kurt Geib said...

Made this dish last night and it turned out fantastic. I thought it was so good that added to the on-line Family share recipe book. The only thing I though was a bit off was that the amount of kosher salt; one teaspoon of kosher salt per large russet = 3 teaspoons per batch. I think in my next attempt I will lower to 2 teaspoons per batch. I will continue tweaking as the recipe rotates through my inventory.
John, I want to say, thanks for your recipes and your great YouTube Food Wishes Videos. Your explanations, processes and ideas really helps me.

Ryan Rekart said...

Can anyone help me out with the size of the baking dish?

Also, to the person who asked about sour cream substitute, maybe Greek yogurt?

I R A said...

I love foodwishes recipes but they tend to be rich dishes that lean heavily on meat, butter, and dairy (which I love) but I was wondering if anyone could recommend a food blog with some healthier dishes? No disrespect to Chef John, I just want to keep my diet balanced so that I don’t grow a gut this winter. Thanks!

Dave said...

Delicious! I found a really nice local white cheddar, really made the dish. I substituted green onions for the shallots and that worked very well. As for baking the potatoes, I followed the example but next time I'll try baking without wrapping in foil and see if that makes any difference. Other than this recipe I never wrap the spuds whwen baking, just stick some holes in them and set them on the oven rack and that works fine. We shall see.

Juice said...

Great recipe. Played your video for my husband the day it posted and he went to the store for russets, a sharp white cheddar, and two steaks for that night's dinner (already had sour cream). The only change we made was to use garlic chives from our garden instead of shallot. Top drawer recipe! Thanks.

namelesh said...

Gonna make this tomorrow with your Bacon-Wrapped Cranberry Walnut Pork, sounds so delicious..

Judi said...

These were really amazing..except I would suggest using a longer, more shallow pan (9 x 13)...I found that piled into a casserole type dish, the top did get very brown like the video, but the center was not as hot as I thought it would be...excellent taste, would most definitely make again switching pan size though.

Kferg said...

Made this as a side for meatloaf and added chives - tastes just like a baked potato but fluffier. I really enjoyed the crust that formed around the bottom and sides of the dish so much so, that I'd like to bake these in large muffin tins next time to achieve more crust to surface area - would also be a good idea for a more formal, plated dinner.

Another winner Chef John - thank you!!

Christine said...

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I feel truly blessed to have found your email address. I sincerely hope others will take that leap of faith and let you help them as you have helped me.for those of you who want to contact him reach him on his email address: (ekpentemple@gmail. com) you will never regret contacting him… He is capable of restoring your relationship and marriage problems like he did for me.

Big Al said...

Made this and served with your Million Dollar Chicken. I hate it when there are no leftovers for my lunch. My family wants me do to have it again. Definitely a winner.

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