Free Goldy's Kitchen Cookbook by Diane Mott Davidson Page B

muscled athlete with an extremely low body mass index. But you wouldn’t know it from learning this is his favorite potato dish.
    Â½ tablespoon unsalted butter
    1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
    2 cups very thinly sliced yellow onions (about 1 large onion)
    Â½ pound Gruyère cheese, grated
    Â½ pound Comté or fontina cheese, grated
    Â½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
    4 pounds russet (baking) potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
    1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
    1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt
    Â½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    2 cups heavy (whipping) cream
    1. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter with the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is very limp and has caramelized without burning, 15 to 25 minutes. Be sure to cook until the onion has completely changed color. Set the pan aside.
    2. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375˚F. Butter a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish.
    3. In a bowl, toss together the grated cheeses.
    4. Place a layer of sliced potatoes in the baking dish, followed by a scattering of the cooked onions. Sprinkle on a layer of cheese, then sprinkle on some of the sage. Continue to layer until you have used up the potatoes, onions, cheese, and sage. End with a layer of cheese.
    5. In a bowl, stir the salt and pepper into the heavy cream and pour slowly over the potato mixture so as not to disturb the cheese topping. Bake for 1 to 1½ hours, until the potatoes are very tender and the top is golden brown.
    Makes 8 to 12 servings

Party Apples
    â€” DOUBLE SHOT —
    These are wonderful on their own, or if you’re not going the vegetarian route, they can accompany any kind of pork dish.
    6 Granny Smith apples
    8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
    Â½ cup packed dark brown sugar
    Â½ cup Cognac
    1. Core, peel, and slice the apples as you would for a pie. In a large skillet or Dutch oven, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium-low heat. Add the apple slices and cook and stir until they begin to soften, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove them to a bowl.
    2. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter in the pan over medium-low heat and add the brown sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
    3. Remove the pan from the heat to avoid igniting the Cognac. Add the Cognac to the butter mixture, stir it in, and return the pan to the stove. Cook this mixture over medium heat until it begins to boil. Boil for 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
    4. Reduce the heat to medium. Carefully return the apples to the pan. Keeping the heat on medium, stir frequently until the apples are hot. Either serve immediately or cool and briefly reheat at serving time.
    Makes 4 to 6 servings

Goldy’s Marvelous Mayonnaise
    â€” CATERING TO NOBODY —
    This isn’t technically a side dish; it’s a sauce. But you can serve it with sliced fresh vegetables, with steamed green beans or broccoli, or in any salad calling for mayonnaise.
    1 large egg
    1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
    1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
    Â½ teaspoon mustard powder
    Â½ teaspoon salt
    1 cup safflower or extra-virgin olive oil
    1. In a food processor, combine the egg, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, and salt and process until well blended, 30 to 40 seconds.
    2. Place the oil in a small pitcher. With the processor running, dribble the oil into the egg mixture in a thin stream. When all the oil has been added, turn off the processor and scrape the mayonnaise into a small bowl that can be tightly covered. Keep the mixture chilled. It is best to use homemade mayonnaise within 24 hours.
    Makes 1 cup

Wild Man’s Rice Salad
    â€” CATERING TO NOBODY —
    My brother, Bill Mott, taught me the trick of soaking wild rice overnight before cooking. Thus ended many years of cooking wild rice for hours and still ending up with chewy kernels.
    Â½ cup raw wild rice
    Spring water, for soaking
    2 cups