Possum Roumelade

I hope you like this dish, it was a huge hit at dinner.**

You Will Need:

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper (if using a cheese that contains pepper-otherwise you may wish to increase this)

1 tablespoon dried, minced onion

1 large celeriac, peeled and thinly sliced

1 skinned and cooked possum (optional)*

3 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

1 cup Swiss cheese, grated

1 cup hard cheese (Romano, Parmesan, etc. I used the Pepato cheese again because I had it)

1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs (I used the chap, dry ones that come in a tin at the supermarket that were probably swept up off the factory floor)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Stir together the cream, salt, pepper, parsley and onion. As you slice the potatoes and celeriac, toss it in the bowl with the cream.

Butter a large (9x13) baking dish and drain the potatoes, reserving the cream. Spread them in the pan and then pour the cream over. Mix the breadcrumbs with the cheese and top the potatoes and celeriac. At this point, if using the possum, cut it into generous chunks (because you don't want to be stingy when there's possum for eatin') and throw it atop the breadcrumb/cheese mixture. Bake about 45 minutes or until vegetables are soft and top is well-browned. Let stand for a bit before serving.

* I just wanted to make sure you guys are paying attention.

**OK, it isn't a roumelade at all, it is a gratin, or colloquially, a "bake." Roumelade sounded funnier. The recipe was inspired by a few recipes I found on the web and with enough mixing and matching and substituting (because who keeps something like three cups of Gruyere on hand?) this was what I ended up with. I think you could prepare this by layering the potato and celeriac slices and dusting them with flour and then dotting with butter. I'd omit the heavy cream in that case and use milk instead. I believe this is also called "scalloped", though the addition of cheese perhaps makes it a "gratin." Either way, it is a pretty flexible thing. In fact, I wasn't as crazy about the chewy/crusty top as everyone else and I'd probably cut way back on the cheese if I made it again.

It is also worth noting that my three year old ate it without complaint.