Though it is a bit hard to tell under that crunchy top coating of seasoned Panko crumbs and cheese, these potatoes were standing up on end like Remy's rattatouille. It doesn't change the flavor of the dish, but it does make for a nice presentation. It also takes a lot more work, so wuff recommends just using the more common layered technique unless you're cooking for a fancy occasion (like the Christmas Feast).

This recipe also uses the basic Bechemal (white) sauce (found here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15061786/ ). And this one, like the Creamed Spinach, is also kicked up with shallots, garlic, and cheeses. Funny how those basic techniques come back again and again, eh? *grin*

Note: Vrghr STRONGLY recommends that you place a sheet of foil on the oven rack underneath this dish! This always bubbles over in wuffy's oven, and it's far easier to just yank out that foil and trash it, than to try to clean up the baked-on cheese sauce from the floor of your oven! You might get a little smoke from the dripping cheese burning on the foil, but that's a small annoyance compared to the mess it avoids.

Note2: Omnivore Salt is a wonderful blend of herbs and spices and gourmet sea salt. You can get some here: http://www.Omnivoresalt.com

Ingredients
For the Potatoes:
2-3 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
5 Tbs butter
3 Tbs Flour
5 C Milk
1 1/2 C Minced Shallots
2 Tbs Minced Garlic
8 oz Parmesan and Fontina cheese blend
4 oz grated Italian Cheese blend
2 oz Amish Blue Cheese
2 tsp Omnivore Salt
2 tsp ground Black Pepper
1 tsp grated Nutmeg

For the Topping:
Panko style bread crumbs
2 tsp Mrs Dash Table Style seasoning
3 Tbs grated Italian Style cheese

Directions:
Wash the potatoes, but leave the skins on.

With a mandolin or food processor, slice the potatoes ~1/8-3/16 inch thick.

In a small sauce pan, heat milk until steaming.

In a medium sauce pan, heat the butter over medium high heat until it stops foaming. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until the butter turns brown and smells nutty.

Raise heat back to medium high. Add minced shallots and minced garlic. Season with Omnivore Salt and ground Black Pepper. Sauté' until shallots are translucent.

Whisk in flour. Cook for 3-5 minutes, but do not let roux brown.

Gradually whisk in heated milk. Add grated nutmeg. Whisk all together, cooking until everything is hot and smooth and creamy.

Stir in cheeses. Cook until everything melts together and combines smoothly.

Reduce heat to low.

Spray a medium casserole dish with cooking spray.

Spread a layer of sauce on the bottom of the dish. Add a layer of potatoes, and cover with another layer of sauce.

Alternate layers of potatoes and sauce, ending with a layer of sauce on top.

Note: if stacking potatoes on end, dip them in the sauce and ensure both sides are covered.

Cover dish loosely with tin foil. Note: if stacking potatoes on end, cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the dish and cover the potatoes with that, instead of the tin foil.

Bake at 375 for about 1 hour.

Test with knife inserted into center. If not tender all the way through, return to oven and continue baking for another 15 - 30 minutes.

Remove casserole from oven and remove covering.

Mix Panko bread crumbs with Mrs Dash seasoning. Sprinkle on top of potatoes, covering in a thin layer. Sprinkle grated cheese on top of bread crumbs.

Return casserole to oven. Set oven to Broil and broil until top is starting to toast and cheese is starting to melt.

Remove and allow to rest about 10 minutes to keep guests from burning themselves on the molten interior. It also lets the sauce set up a bit.

Variation: For a special treat, Cook these in a Smoker at 225-250 for a couple hours. Don't use the loose tinfoil covering if you do them this way. The smoky flavoring it adds really takes these over the top! Goes wonderful with grilled meats this way! You can still finish them under the broiler at the end, if you like.

If you need to (if they don't seem to be getting nice and soft in the middle), just wrap them in foil and finish the final baking in a conventional oven at 325 until cooked tender all the way through. Don't Forget that Tinfoil Layer underneath to catch the drips in your conventional oven!