Swiss Chard & Sweet Potato Gratin

Here is the recipe for the gratin that I made for the potluck.  It's perfect for the cold winter nights. It's hearty, it's cheesy, it's good.

 I have experimented a couple of times with the recipe and I think I've got it down. My niece and I made this for Thanksgiving and everyone turned their nose up at the idea of sweet potatoes mingling in with the cheese. The suggestion alone seemed blasphemous as we normally make a kick ass sweet potato recipe every year. But lo and behold the pan quickly emptied itself into hungry mouths and there were plenty of "mmm's" to go around.

I haven't mastered the art of food photography (read: AT ALL) so you will just have to imagine how amazing this dish is. It's fab. Promsies.

Ingredients

3 bunches of swiss chard - chopped into 1 inch portions, stem chopped separately
4 sweet potatoes - peeled, sliced into thin rounds
2 large potatoes  - peeled, sliced into thin rounds
1 finely chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon of chopped thyme
1 tablespoon of chopped Italian Parsley
Salt & Pepper
8 ounces of Gruyere Cheese - shredded
1/2 stick of butter (about 1/4 cup)
Pinch of fresh nutmeg
2 cups of heavy cream
2 tablespoons of flour

**Things to note: You can substitute the swiss chard for spinach leaves in a pinch. You can also swap out the potatoes for other root vegetables like butternut squash and turnips if you'd like. Also, make sure to clean off the veggies very well before adding them to the casserole dish.




Prep Work

I would start off with slicing the potatoes first so that you can soak them in water for a few to soften them up just a bit. Get everything chopped and diced and sitting pretty on your counter top.


The Chard

 In a medium saucepan melt the 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat (medium is the word of the day) and cook down the onions. Add the chard stems, the pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Cook down until just tender then turn the heat up to medium-high. Start adding in a handful of leaves at a time. Cook until wilted. Be sure to keep an eye out because it only takes a few minutes to cook down. You don't want to overcook the chard.
Take off the heat immediately and put the chard in a colander to drain out the water while you work on the bechamel sauce. Use a wooden spoon to press out as much water as possible.



The Sauce

In a small saucepan warm the heavy cream with garlic. Keep the milk warm. Melt the remaining butter on medium heat in a separate saucepan and slowly mix in the flour. Whisk the flour for about a minute to create a roux. Slowly add in the warm milk/garlic and continue whisking for another minute. You don't have to whisk fast, a nice slow whisk is cool as long as it doesn't stick  to the pan.


The Layers

Preheat the oven at 400°F. Begin to layer the potatoes in a buttered, deep baking dish. Put one layer of a combination of sweet & white potatoes, sprinkle with herbs, and 1/4 c of cheese. Add in half of the drained chard to the top. Build two layers before spreading an even layer of half of the bechamel sauce. Build another two layers and pour the remaining sauce on the top. Sprinkle with the last bit of cheese.

Bake for one hour until golden and bubbly. Let the dish cool for a few before serving. You will do a happy food dance after your first bite. 

Promsies.

Pre-Baby Prep

About a month or so prior to the due date I started freezing meals. My neice came to visit from Houston and helped with the preparations. We made large amounts of the following meals:

• Teriyaki everything - beef, pork, and chicken
• Burgers - turkey, beef, lamb
• Meat Loaf
• Spicy Stewed Beef  
• Stuffed Peppers*
• Italian Spinach Meatballs
• Pineapple Pork Fried Rice

This was my most brilliant idea yet! I ended up making enough meals to stock up the freezer for a couple of months. I made or marinaded all the meat and all we had to do was prepare the fresh ingredients just before dinner. We called it "shopping in the freezer." The stuffed peppers were a recipe from my Grandmother Lenora, but by the time we got to the store for the fresh peppers they were like $2.50 a pepper. whatevs. We ended up stuffing baked potatoes (much cheaper, even though they are so, so bad for you)with the meat mixture instead. It was a big hit with my niece who stayed with us that week. I'll post that recipe in the future. Don't get all De-Mandy with me either.

My mother in-law flew in from Jamaica a week before my due date and planned to stay one week past my due date. It was so awesome having her here to share this amazing time with us. She made huge pots of our favorite dishes. She made homemade chicken soup, curry chicken, B's favorite stew peas, and my ultimate favorite ox tails. It was amazing. We ended up having meals for the entire three months I was out on maternity leave. It was a huge help having those meals once Hammie came home.

I haven't mastered these recipes nearly as well as she has (read: at all). We keep trying to get it right but there is nothing like mom's cooking. Once we get the technique and measurements together to produce a respectable recipe (we can only hope it tastes like mom's) I'll post it. Until then, try one of the recipes up there.

 In addition to my obsession for hoarding food, I had daily panic attacks about "STUFF." For every new item we brought into the house I found fifteen things that needed to be thrown out. UPS showed up at our door daily and poor B fell victim to my tantrums. I felt like I was suffocating from all the stuff. All the preggo books said that this nesting stage was normal. Let me tell you friends, it is serious. The urge was so intense that I really felt like my life depended on whether or not my house was "in order." Closets had to be cleared out, books needed to be donated (woah!), and baseboards needed to be scrubbed. It was scary stuff. So, the house was scrubbed, the meals were made and still...no baby.

The Pregnancy

Part II: Are We There Yet??

"Just when you think you can't get any bigger, you do." My sister in law gave me that gem. She was correct, you do get...bigger. And BIGGER. I didn't know it was even possible to OUTGROW maternity wear. That's just ridiculous. I am pretty sure everyone at work got a sneak peak of my stretch marked belly that last month. My walks to the restroom five times a day must have been hilarious, because I was penguin-ing that shit up. Coworkers would make special trips to my office just to clean up.

Randoms: "Hey, did you know your stapler is on the floor."

Me: "Yep. That's where it's going to stay too if you don't pick it up."

I had a collection of "desk essentials" scattered across my office. "Tape?!? I mean, who really uses tape these days?" I constantly convinced myself that I didn't really need that thumb drive sitting next to my feet. I got used to pointing. Sometimes (read: always) I got carried away and made requests for help when I was fully capable of accomplishing it on my own.



"Yeah, pour a little more gravy
on those mashed potatoes.
That's how mama likes it."



After I had the baby I had to re-train myself. I kept forgetting that I was no longer physically impaired and could in fact grab a mixing bowl from the lower kitchen cabinet by myself. I had mixed feelings about that.



whatevs



When I asked B when he would like to start trying for a second baby (calm down MOM, we were just making conversation) he said HE needed to recover from this pregnancy before he could even think about a second baby. Apparently I was a little demanding. 

Anywhooooo, I noticed that there was this trap that I fell into around my seventh month. Up until the sixth month I worked out religiously. I did MMA style fitness classes about 5-6 days a week. I also taught three classes a week. I was so proud of myself, I overcame the nausea and headaches and at that point I could still lift my leg to do a mean round kick. THEEEEEEN all of a sudden I started getting dizzy. I had low blood pressure and everything made me dizzy. Walking up stairs - yep, got dizzy. My doctor said I should pick up a different kind of exercise, like walking. wtf. Walking?!? Walking is booooooring. Needless to say I had to stop exercising. I concluded that Hammie was being totally selfish and taking all my awesome juice.  So instead of heading straight to the gym after work I drove home, which spiraled into me climbing in bed at 5 in the afternoon for a "nap." Other people just call it "going to sleep for the night." I got depressed because I couldn't work out and hang out with my workout buddies (I'm looking at you Sherry lol) You know what made me feel better?!?!



  The Trap. Ridiculous, I know.

I didn't actually eat that heart attack in waiting, but if I found a place that served that sort of thing I probably would have. I ate. I ate a lot. I wasn't covered in gravy or anything but that would have been nice. This, my friends, was the above mentioned trap. I couldn't work out, which was a problem in itself. How did I compound that issue?? By eating. Yeah, at some point my twisted logic said, "You know what goes perfect with sitting on the couch? Sausage smoothies." I agreed.

I did juice vegetables every morning (B juiced, I drank)to drink on my way to work though. That, in my mind, balanced out the two brisket sandwiches that I ate for lunch. (just kidding...sort of) Hammie LOVED the vegetable juice. Usually about five minutes after I drank said concoction he would explode with movement. I imagined that he was doing a happy food dance. I think everyone in my family has their own happy food dance. I am sure you have a happy food dance also, you just may not even be aware of it. We like to be self aware.

If you're interested in doing a happy food dance from the veggie blood, here is the recipe:

1/2 green apple

4  celery stalks (include the leaves)

1 cucumber (leave the skin on)

2 carrots

1 handful of spinach

It was delicious. It's like drinking your salad without that awful salad dressing we all need. It was simple, it was delicious, and it made my baby do a happy dance.

CIAO