Scalloped Potatoes Au Gratin & Chicken Stuffed with Cranberry-Walnut Goat Cheese

It's a good thing I don't like food. You know how that is...

When I emerged from the basement, intent on dinner, I was lugging with me the bottom of my Le Creuset casserole. I refused to leave it upstairs lest it get attacked by metal utensils.

I put the dish in the oven and turned the oven onto 300F convection bake.

Pulled six potatoes out, washed them, poked them and put them into the microwave to partially cook. I was looking for a 3/4 cooked potato.

Then I turned to the stove. I grabbed a small saucepan and melted some butter in it. Threw in some flour to make a roux. Poured in some milk after the flour had cooked, warmed that up and then snagged every half-empty bag o' shredded cheese in the fridge. Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack. I also grabbed the block of parmagiano reggiano. Pour the cheeses in there and then used the cheese cutter to cut myself some hunkage of the mother cheese. Left that to warm up and meld flavorage together...

Turned to the potatoes. Sliced a few. Took the dish out of the oven and ladled some of the cheese sauce into it. I like a nice crispy bottom, see...

Started layering the potatoes into the dish. Actually, I layered all of the potatoes into the dish and then ladled the rest of the cheese sauce over it.

Put the dish back into the oven and set the oven on 400F convention bake.

I then turned to the chicken:

At lunch on Friday, I picked up an exceedingly delicious container of goat cheese mixed with dried cranberries and walnuts and loved all over by some honey. Thinking about what I paid for it, next time I will buy a big ole block of goat cheese and mix the rest at in at home. But, that aside...

I took my All-Clad saute pan, set it to low on the stove and brushed some olive oil in the bottom.

I took some plain chicken breasts and pounded them out to the dulcet tones of Lyle Lovett telling everyone to kiss his ass, with his pony and boat and all.

I put a mound of goat-cheese-mixture into each chicken breast and rolled up the chicken.

I dipped each rolled chicken breast into a bowl of bread crumbs moistened with some melted butter.

I put each chicken breast into the saute pan.

At this point the potato dish was getting nice brownage on top. Lovely. I put the saute pan into the oven and turned the head down to 375F.

I then set a whole stack of baby carrots to bubbling with a mixture of chicken stock, massive amounts of ginger and a 1/2 cup of maple syrup.

Ten minutes later, I took the potato dish out of the oven and let it sit.

Twenty minutes later, I took the chicken out of the oven.


I put the potatoes and carrots on the plates. Then I turned to the chicken pan -- and picked it up with my right hand. Burned it badly. So, I got no pictures of dinner.

That said, when I emerged quite a while later (having conquered the pain somewhat), dinner was quite fantastic. I highly recommend it.