I made these to go with the ham. They're really simple, and delicious. I mean what's not to like? cheese, potatoes, toasted bread, sounds like a plan.
I must admit that I've never done au gratin before. I've dabbled with scalloped, and have a wonder version that uses herbs de provence... but that's for another post. I just sort of scavenged around the intarwebs looking for trends in au gratin recipes and took what I liked from each one, and made this recipe. I admit I used cheddar cheese soup from a can, instead of making my own cream of cheddar, but I figure it still turned out edible, so no complaining.
Au Gratin Potatos
3 lbs Potatoes, peeled, and sliced 1/8-1/4 inches thin (i used russet)
1 smal onion, halfed and sliced (think half-moon slices)
2 10.5 oz Cans Cheddar Cheese Soup
10.5 oz cream
10.5 oz milk
1 cup of Cheddar Cheese, shredded
2 slices bread
parsley
paprika
salt
white pepper
Oven preheated to 350 F.
Begin by making the bread crumb topping, by putting the bread slices and parsley in a food processor and pulsing until coase crumbs. set aside
Whisk the cheddar cheese soup with the cream and milk until smooth. You needn't heat it, as it will all be going in the oven anyhow.
Begin by layering a 9x13 pan with a 1/4 of the sliced potatoes (we'll make 4 layers), followed by a 1/4 of the onions. salt and pepper the layer, and then repeat for the second layer. On the second layer, sprinkle half the cheese, and then add half the cheese soup. Repeat layering again with third layer, then a fourth, followed by cheese, and cheese soup. Sprinkle a little paprika over the whole thing and put in oven uncovered for roughly 50-60 min (until the cheese starts to brown up). After the hour cooking, sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the whole thing and bake another 10 min until crumbs toast.
Let sit 10 min before serving. 
Although a coat is required for dinner, the dress was rather casual, and not at all snobbish.
The first dish was brought out and looked somewhat like a bug on a stick. The waiter explained that a soft center of coconut was embellished with steelhead roe, and wrapped in a lime blanket. The whole thing was wrapped around a vanilla bean, which we used as our utensil, but not before the potent and wonderful sent of vanilla from the bean wafted into our senses. Babicz exclaimed upon eating it that she had never tasted so many distinct flavors in her mouth at once, and I have to agree. 
I still have no idea what they were even talking about, however this dish was explained to be the skin of boiled down soymilk that was rolled and then fried. Around the crunchy yuba, spiraled a shrimp with garnishes of chive and orange zest, all nestled in a small dish with a miso mayonnaise. 
To be consumed in a single bite, this chunk of king crab was wrapped in layers of passionfruit, zucchini, and hearts of palm, along with a dollop of pureed avocado. 
Salsify is a root that is cooked, and has a taste that resembles oysters. Along with the crispy fried exteriors of the salsify, came smoked salmon mousse and smoked salmon poached in olive oil. The caper and dill sauce that decorated the plate was pungent and refreshing, while the dehydrated bell pepper and red onion provided bright flavors and good textural contrast between the soft salsify, mousse, and salmon. 
This one came out on huge pillows that were filled with nutmeg smoke that seeped out as you ate and filled the nose with wonderful smells. In the center was the most perfectly smooth white bean puree topped with a crispy pancetta chip and Guinness foam. Arranged around the centerpiece were various assorted garnishes that we were encouraged to mix around with each other and the beans in different combinations. This was probably my favorite dish of the night, despite its seeming simplicity. All the flavors were wonderful, and I really enjoyed the freedom and fun to mix thing around on my plate and play with the flavors. 
When the waiters brought this bowl out, we were told this would be a somewhat interactive course. A forkful of duck with “Thai” flavors was organized on a fork, which sat in a bowl of butternut squash soup with intense banana foam. The dish couldn’t be set down until the forkful of duck was taken, lest the bowl fall over from imbalance and spill rich soup in our laps. 
The lamb was a very complicated dish with lots of flavors. In the middle the lamb was coated in a red wine reduction, and each corner of the plate focused on a differing flavor. Enoki mushrooms in one, buttery onions and crispies in another, the stickiest candied walnut ever with lentils, and a beet pierogi. And don’t let that red sauce smear in the middle fool you, it was like getting punched in the face with red bell peppers. 
This one is fairly well known, and for good reason. The dish is presented in a bowl with a pin that contains a ninja looking appendage. The pin is slid out of a wax cup containing a cold potato soup, which dunks the hot potato ball with the truffled ninja hat into the soup and the whole thing is taken like a shot. 
A wonderful combination of pork belly atop polenta with pickled vegetables under a blanket of smoked paprika, which the waiter described as a sort of “bbq sauce.” This was excellent. 
The one dish that I really didn’t care for. I was expecting more of a fried chicken sort of texture, but the the chicken skin tasted mostly of corn meal. 
Soy and mango combined to create a casing/shell, which was filled with foie gras. The mango shell provided an excellent contrast to the thick, rich and creamy interior. However, my one complaint was that the foie gras was too salty. 
The cranberry on the plate was frozen with bitter orange compliments and a hint of chervil atop. Very cold and tart, it melted on the palette, creating almost a numbing sensation on the roof of my mouth. I can only hope they used liquid nitrogen in this preparation. Think high-tech sorbet.
The serpentine fish dish was molded in the wake of a line of horseradish. While Babicz found the horseradish to be overwhelming, I (loving horseradish) also loved this dish. As it snaked across the plate, it dipped into pools of asparagus, lined with shellfish chips and garnished with parsley.
The first of the truly bizarre/unique culinary sensations in our palate, a ball was presented in a shot class, filled with walnut milk. We were instructed to take the entire shot at once, and close our mouths immediately, lest we end up with the contents of our shot class all over ourselves. The small ball, upon light pressure, bursts in the mouth releasing heady apple liquid. The richness of the walnut milk went great with the clean apple cider afterwards.
The famed “Kobe” or more politically correct (as we were informed) Wagyu beef, came buried in heated cedar, releasing an intense pine aroma. The cube of perfectly cooked beef was uncovered like treasure from under our steaming foliage to be devoured. Afterwards, the waiter casually added, “you didn’t finish your salad?”
While the presentation was quaint and pretty, the black truffle in this ravioli was rather over powering. If you’ve never had truffle, this will certainly let you in on the secret as to its taste.
This was another fun and playful dish that combined sweetbreads with cauliflower. The fried cauliflowers adorning the various bits and pieces were conceivably they crunchiest things on the planet. The swimming pool in the middle was made of toasted hay (for horses?) and accompanied by “burnt sauce.” Now hay is rather strange, but burnt sauce? It was quite peculiar, because our waiters warned us that if we tried the black dots by themselves, they would simply taste like burnt (and they did). The magic was their combination with the other elements on the plate, creating complexities akin to toast, and caramelization.
This was one of the most fun dishes of the night. A moving ensemble, raspberry reduction was dusted with dehydrated yogurt powder, and adorned with rose petals. The crispy glass pieces moved back and forth on our table until we couldn’t resist any longer and stopped their pendulum motion to break them into millions of pieces.
Another deliciously fun course, which merged bacon with butterscotch, twisted apply twine, and thyme. These flavors all melt beautifully, and the trapeze afterwards was so much fun to tinker with.
One of the first “desert” or sweet courses, the center focused persimmon, and carrot, with a blob of ginger liquid. Off to the side was a curry with complimented the dish nicely, and cleansed the palate from the sweetness of the persimmon. This dish reminds me of a apple crisp with a persimmon spin. As for the ginger ball, once again, the delicate skin holding the liquid contents burst in mouth, gushing spicy ginger liquid all over the palate. The finishing kick here, was a sailboat looking winter spice “Listerine strip,” which we slipped off its mast and dissolved on the roof our mouth. I wish I could freshen my breath with these everyday.
A truly hands free dining experience, we were asked to lean forward and bite a licorice cake, with orange and hyssop, covered in muscovado spun sugar from a wire. The licorice flavor was deep but not overpowering, while the spun sugar cracked and crunched heavily in our jaws.
This had to be the messiest, and most playful dish all evening. We were persuaded to break the chocolate coated “cake,” which contained a liquefied brioche, and a chocolate covered egg yolk, into a pomelo pool and mix it up with gellified smoke. The flavors were peculiar, and unique. This dish was very original, and pushed the boundaries of what I would consider “desert.”
Finally, we ended the night with some coffee. Colloidal coffee, five ways that is. Each cube of gellied coffee was adorned with different flavors. First, saffron, followed by sassafras, Chinese almond, red chile, and some other I forgot. Maybe lavender? You decide. Or better yet, go to Alinea, and experience it yourself! 
