Cheddar Hasselback Potatoes

This is the post that my family's been expecting.  It is a fact that if you are related to me or in my close circle of friends and you make a culinary mistake - I WILL blog about it. 😅  Culinary blunders make for great blog material but I also feel like hearing about other people's own kitchen mishaps makes us feel better about our own. 🙃

Here's the story:  The last time that I made these potatoes, I asked my son to go out and pick some fresh rosemary from the garden.  He looked apprehensive and somewhat surprised that I would trust him to go out and correctly identify the right herb in the line up of small green edible plants that were growing along the side of the house. 🌿  But, being the dutiful son that he is - he googled the desired herb, went outside and returned 2 minutes later with a handful of freshly cut herbs.  (You see where this is going.  Don't you?)

I had my doubts that the handful of herbs that he presented to me was rosemary but, I thought that since we weren't at home in Georgia - the Ohio rosemary looked different.🤷🏻‍♀️  I gave the fresh herbs a quick examination, disregarded my instincts, gave it the sniff test, chopped it up and added it to the potatoes. 

​I was a little pressed for time so I quickly assembled the cheesy potato casserole and slid it into the oven before running out the door.  (What did I do before we had delayed start time on the oven?)  About an hour into the baking process, when we returned home from church, it occurred to me to ask my first born to point out the plant that he suspected to be rosemary.  As you probably figured out my now - it wasn't rosemary.   It was lavender.  🤣

Lavender potatoes.  That's what we had that day.  Honestly - they weren't as bad as I thought they might be.  I couldn't really taste the lavender but they definitely weren't as good as they were when I had made them with fresh rosemary.  So the lesson here is ... Ohio rosemary looks exactly like Georgia rosemary and is looks freakishly similar to lavender.  😅😅

Cheddar Hasselback Potatoes
6 oz. shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
4 oz. shredded pepper Jack cheese
1 cup heavy cream
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
4 lb. russet potatoes, peeled

Combine Cheddar and pepper Jack cheeses.  Transfer 1/3 to small bowl and set aside.

Add heavy cream, garlic, rosemary, 1 1⁄4 t. salt and 1⁄2 t. pepper to cheeses.

Thinly slice potatoes.  Place in bowl with cream mixture.

Arrange slices in greased 2 quart oval baking dish, sides facing up.

Bake 1 hour at 350. 

Remove foil and sprinkle top with reserved cheeses.   Bake 55 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes or until potatoes are very tender and top is golden brown.

I've used this recipe for cheddar hasselback potatoes at least a half a dozen times since I added it to my blog cue.  I have no explanation for why it's taken me so long to get around to posting this recipe. 💁🏻‍♀️  But don't judge it based on my lack of promptness.   

Ciao!

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