Cheesy Potatoes for Mother’s Day Brunch

What are you doing for Mother’s Day? Do you have any special plans? I am not sure yet; since I was home in NJ this past weekend for my nephew’s christening, I won’t be able to spend the day with my own mom. There’s a slight chance the boat that we are getting will be in the water by the weekend; if it is, I will be on it!

If I was making a Mother’s Day brunch, I would definitely include one of my favorite potato dishes, this cheesy and garlicky baked potato casserole. I made this dish on a chilly evening recently, and everything about it, the smells, tastes, and comforting texture, make it a winning dish.

I started with five large potatoes, skin on. I almost didn’t want to cut up this heart-shaped potato! But I sliced the potatoes into thin rounds and added them to a pot of salted, boiling water. or this dish, you don’t want the potatoes to get mushy, so boil just until fork-tender, then drain and set aside.

While the potatoes boiled, I finely chopped five large cloves of garlic and added the garlic to about a cup each of shredded skim mozzarella and grated Kerrygold Dubliner cheese.

To the garlic and cheese, I added about two cups of whole milk, swapped in where cream would be. It’s all about the moderation.

To the milk/garlic/cheese mix, I added fresh ground black pepper and a bit of grated nutmeg. I have said it before, but I absolutely love the addition of nutmeg to creamy sauces.

Once the sauce was ready and the potatoes drained, I layered slices of potato in a casserole dish, covering each layer with a mix of cheese, milk, and garlic

Once all of my layers were in place, I popped the dish into the oven at 400 for 25 minutes. Every so often, I turned on the oven light to check out the bubbly, browning cheese.

Caution. . . this dish is not only REALLY hot at first, it is also completely addictive! If I was serving these cheesy potatoes with brunch, I would balance it with an egg white frittata, fruit salad, and mimosas made with various types of juice, orange, mango, pomegranate.

If you are cooking for Mother’s Day, what are you making? If you aren’t cooking, do you have other fun plans?