These a indulgent, luxurious, high-calorie potatoes, for sure! LOTS of cream and butter in this recipe! Something you'll probably want to save for special occasions and not an every week event.

But, OH! Are they ever GOOD!! Mmmmm! They're like an even creamier, more complex, more indulgent version of Scalloped potatoes.

Apparently this dish was a featured item of the now-closed Lighthouse Inn. Wuff first saw these being demonstrated on the Cooks Country Youtube channel. Vrghr was looking for something a bit special to go with his Christmas feast, and these certainly fit the bill. And the results definitely did not disappoint! Vrghr added a bit more Parmesan to the cream sauce, as well as to the topping, and used White Pepper to keep the black flecks from appearing in the cream from the ground black pepper.

Creamy, Rich, Buttery, with savory Parmesan notes, but the potato flavor still comes through. YUM!

And really, they're not that hard to create either, though there is more than one stage to go through.

Vrghr had to substitute conventional bread crumbs instead of Panko style, because that's all wuffy had in the cabinet. The Panko would definitely given improvement in texture, but the normal crumbs worked well enough.

Attention! You'll see addition of 2 teaspoons of salt in the creation of the potatoes. This will seem like way too much. IT ISN'T! The cream will taste salty while the potatoes are boiling, but the 'tater's will suck that up and the results will be delish! Trust wuffy!

Vrghr used white pepper in the creation, to maintain the creamy white appearance, but ground black pepper will taste just as nice.

Give these a try next time you want something indulgent, special, and luxurious as a side dish. You won't be disappointed!

NOTES:
- Don't skip the baking soda. It seems a bit unusual, but helps stabilize the mixture and adds a little silkiness to the texture
- If you can't find light cream, use Heavy or whipping cream instead, not Half-n-half. The latter tends to break with all the boiling and stirring needed to boil the potatoes properly
- This is one time you REALLY want to grate your own Parmesan cheese! The only flavor in this dish comes from the potato, cream, and especially the CHEESE! As the key flavoring ingredient, you want to be sure to use the best you can here. And for a dish this indulgent, where you're already splurging, the cheese is not the place to cut corners

INGREDIENTS:
For the Topping
2 ounces (about 1 cup) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup panko bread crumbs
4 TBS unsalted Butter, melted

For the Potatoes
6 TBS unsalted Butter, cut into pieces
2 1/2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized 1-inch chunks
3 C light cream, divided
1 oz (about 1/2 C) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp baking soda
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp White Pepper (can substitute ground black pepper)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (may need to switch to "broil" mode at the end)
In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the topping until the results resemble coarse sand

In a large pot over medium heat, add 2 1/2 C of the light cream, potatoes, baking soda, salt and pepper. Stir.

Bring to a light boil, stirring frequently to keep the potatoes from sticking. Don't let them boil too hard as the cream will try to foam and boil over. Keep cooking until the potatoes are just turning tender (a knife slips in easily, but doesn't split the potatoes into chunks)

Remove pot from heat and stir in the remaining cream, 1/2 C fresh grated Parmesan cheese, and the 6 oz of Butter. Keep stirring until all the butter and cheese have melted and combined

Pour the mixture into a casserole dish (9X12 works well). You don't need to butter the sides this time, as all the cream and butter does a good job of keeping things from sticking

Sprinkle the prepared topping evenly across the top

Bake, uncovered, for about 15-25 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the sides are bubbly (you may need to switch the oven to "Broil" mode for a few minutes to finish adding color to the top of the crumbs, but don't over-brown them)

Remove from oven and allow to rest for about 10-15 minutes for the sauce to thicken and set up a bit (also, it will be volcano hot at this point)

Serve hot

!DEVOUR!