Double Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes

Not for the faint of heart (or fearful of calories!) this cheesy monstrosity is an awesome dish (I think), plus is gluten free! I made it for the staff Christmas party, and there was some issue with trying to get the potatoes done, but the flavor was excellent, and it was pretty good the next day (though a definitely on the greasy side). when the potatoes were cooked.

Ingredients

• 4 large baking potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
• 1 quart heavy cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart baking dish.
2. Layer potato slices in prepared baking dish. Pour cream over potatoes; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Season potatoes with salt and pepper.
3. Bake in preheated oven until potatoes are soft, about 1 hour. Remove from oven; gently stir potatoes. Sprinkle with the Cheddar cheese; cover and let rest until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

My first big change for this was that I made it in the crockpot, and cooked it on low for several hours. That was a mistake! :p So about 3 hours into the cooking process, with dinner scheduled for 4 hours after that, the potatoes were still hard as a rock. Proceeded to turn it up to high - 5 hours later, the potatoes were MOSTLY done. I like the theory of making it in the crockpot, but I may try to bake it per directions next time and see if that helps, though numerous reviews complained about the cooking time not being long enough.
While I was layering these in the crockpot, I did add some garlic salt and pepper for a bit of an added kick, as well as put cheddar cheese and parmesan in the middle layers. I increased the amount of parmesan cheese, partly because I love cheese, and partly because it was soupy and I hoped the extra cheese would thicken it up. I really liked the flavor of it, but I would definitely make some changes.. Next time, I will  cut down on the heavy cream (perhaps substitute half and half?), and either bake it or crock pot it on high for 5ish hours. Definitely keep the higher amounts of cheese the same - it provided amazing flavor and depth to the dish. All in all, it was very good, and I think next time it could be better.

Today was the perfect day - out to lunch with a close friend, Skype dates with family, kitchen cleaned while listening to Pandora, down time to read and blog, and I still have 5ish hours of my weekend left! :D I'm one of those crazy people that needs a LOT of alone time, but I also need to have time out of the house. I can usually spend a 24ish hour period at home without going anywhere, but towards the end of that time frame, I start getting antsy and grouchy to just get OUT. I got to spend several hours in the sun room today - I just love that room, and it tends to be one I forget about! Sad, isn't it?! It's the perfect reading room, though a little chilly. Perfect to curl up with a fuzzy blanket and hunker down for some intense reading time with the snow billowing in wind-blown clouds around you. Now I think I'm off to see if I can get my scrapbooking corner set up in our room. Mom2 and I went scrapbooking on Friday, so I'm feeling a little bit of those rare creative energies flowing. :P Wish me luck!