Casseroles Galore

Fall weather has finally arrived in Texas and I'm looking forward to having the girls home for Thanksgiving.  I've always been a fan of Tyler Florence and was excited to see his Thanksgiving dinner featured on the November issue of Better Homes and Gardens.  Not finding the recipes in the magazine I resorted to searching their website where I found his delicious alternatives to the traditional sides I make every year.  The recipes looked fabulous and for a moment I even considered changing our usual menu to something different this year.  I  quickly came to my senses, however, knowing how my family, especially the girls, expect, love and look forward to the same meal I have been making for years.  They are creatures of tradition, kind of like me.  However, I did stumble upon, in my search for Tyler's Thanksgiving dishes, a link to Better Homes and Gardens best casserole dishes EVER.  So, after browsing through a variety of recipes I was dying to try a few on the family over the next month as the weather turns colder.  Nothing like a yummy casserole to warm you up on a chilly night.  Although it was difficult to pick one from a list of many mouth watering choices, I decided to  try the Tuscan Cheese Potato Bake as a side dish to our Sunday dinner this weekend.  It serves 8-10 so I will half the below recipe.  If it passes the "Richard test" then I will make it again over the holidays.  Crossing my fingers that it's delicious because it looks divine!

Ingredients

2 lb. red potatoes
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 tsp. snipped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
1/4 cup butter
1 cup buttermilk
4 oz. fontina cheese, shredded (1 cup)
4 oz. Parmesan cheese, finely shredded (1 cup)
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)
1/4 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Snipped fresh parsley (optional)


Directions


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a 2-quart square baking dish; set aside. Scrub potatoes; cut in 1-inch pieces. In large saucepan cook potatoes in lightly salted boiling water 12 to 15 minutes or until tender; drain.
2. In a 12-inch skillet cook and stir garlic and thyme in butter over medium heat for 1 minute; add potatoes. Coarsely mash potatoes. Stir in buttermilk, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper. Fold in fontina cheese, half of the Parmesan, and the blue cheese. Evenly spread in baking dish.
3. In small bowl combine remaining Parmesan, panko, Italian seasoning, and oil; toss with a fork to combine. Evenly sprinkle over potato mixture in dish. Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly and top is golden. Sprinkle with snipped fresh parsley. Yummm...