Potatoes Romanoff

I discovered this recipe on the Williams-Sonoma website and it is fantastic!  This has become my family's favorite holiday potato dish. It's fantastic with roast beef and ham, but it will also go well with pork or chicken too! It's become a tradition to serve this dish to my family. I've also introduced it to some friends and they enjoyed it too! I hope you do!

photo from Williams-Somoma, my photo was not good!

Ingredients:

• 3 large russet potatoes, about 2 lb. total, unpeeled and scrubbed  
• 3/4 cup minced shallots 
• 2 1/2 cups grated white cheddar cheese 
• 2 tsp. kosher salt 
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground white pepper 
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream 

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 425ºF.

Wrap each potato in aluminum foil and pierce several times with a fork. Place the potatoes directly on the oven rack and bake until tender, about 1 hour. Remove the foil and let the potatoes cool to room temperature. Place the potatoes on a plate, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the potatoes, including the skins. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle the shallots, 1 3/4 cups of the cheese, the salt and white pepper on top. Using your hands, gently toss the mixture together to combine, then fold in the sour cream in 2 additions.

Transfer the potato mixture to a 1 1/2-quart gratin dish; do not compress. Sprinkle the remaining 3/4 cup cheese on top. Bake until the potatoes are hot and the cheese is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serves 6 -8.