Flemings Potatoes

First off, shout out to my friend Kristina for suggesting I try this recipe for the blog. It was amazing! Secondly, these are probably the most unhealthy potatoes you have ever had, but they are worth every calorie. For those of you who don't know, Flemings is a steakhouse chain restaurant and these potatoes are their signature side dish. I've only been to Flemings once in my life (it's so dang expensive!) but I don't think I tried these while I was there. I was seriously missing out.

There are some things you should know about this recipe before you make it. One is that it takes a while to prepare. The actual hands-on time isn't so bad, but it has to bake for an hour and then for another 15 minutes after that. So this is a dish you make, stick in the oven, and go do something else. Good for a weekend meal or a holiday dinner type thing. Second thing to know is that you will need to buy a leek. If you're anything like I was when I saw the recipe I thought, ummm what's a leek? I actually Googled it before I went to the store and then talked to my mom who proceeded to make jokes about Scottish "Cocky Leeky Soup." I don't think she meant it to be that funny, but I was laughing. Anyway, I know you're dying of curiosity so I'll tell you what I found: a leek looks like the Arnold Schwarzenegger of green onions. Only way to describe it. It's a massive green onion and I was surprised it was fairly easy to find at WinCo.

So without further ado, here is the recipe.

• 3 Tbsp. jalapeños
• 4 oz leeks
• 1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 oz butter, lightly salted
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups half & half
• 4 oz cheddar cheese, grated
• 4 oz jack cheese, grated
• 3 lbs Idaho russet potatoes

Remove seeds from jalapeños and dice finely. Cut ends off leeks. Dice the bottom 3 inches of leeks into 1/2-inch pieces. Place butter in large sauce pot set on medium high heat. Add jalapeños, leeks, salt and pepper, and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add cream and half & half and bring to a simmer. When cream is hot, pull off stove, add both cheeses and blend in thoroughly.

Peel potatoes and slice thinly. Spray sides and bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish with pan coating. Evenly distribute the potatoes and sauce in the pan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes till top is a dark, golden brown.

Serves: 12
Prep Time: 25 min
Total Time: 1 hr 40 min

Recipe from Flemings Steakhouse website

NOTES: I couldn't find heavy cream at the grocery store so I just bought whipping cream and it worked fine. The Flemings website (where I found the recipe) says this makes 6 servings. As a side dish I would amend that to at least 8 generous servings. It's very filling so you don't need that much per serving. I was guessing on the jalapeños at the store and since our family isn't a super spicy one, I only purchased a medium size jalapeño for our recipe. All the cream in the recipe sort of neutralizes the spicy-ness of the jalapeño so you're only left with the flavor and not the kick. I also only bought 1 leek (without weighing it) so I have no idea if it was the correct amount. Everything tasted fine so I'd say it was good. Doug used our mandolin to slice the potatoes thinly and I would definitely recommend this. They were nicely cut and evenly thin. Enjoy!