Au Gratin Potatoes are tasty, so when I came across a hundred-year-old recipe that looked similar to an Au Gratin Potato recipe – but with a twist (the recipe called for corn in addition to potatoes) – I decided to give it a try.
The Cheese, Corn, and Potatoes were very nice. The rich, cheesy sauce worked nicely with the corn and potato combination.
Here’s the original recipe:
The recipe calls for Cheese Sauce. Here is the Cheese Sauce recipe.
Ever make a recipe that turned out well, but that required some interpretation and tweaks along the way? Well, this was one of those recipes.
The first decision I needed to make was what kind of canned corn should I use – whole kernel or cream style? I have a vague sense that canned cream-style corn has been around longer than the whole kernel (though I’m not sure), so I went with cream style. I had two cans of corn – 8.25 ounce can and a 14.75 can. The small one contained a little less corn than called for in the recipe; the large on a little more. (The recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of corn.) I decided to go with the small can even though it only contained a little more than 1-cup of corn.
Next I needed to figure out issues related to the Cheese Sauce. The Cheese, Corn, and Potato Scallop recipe called for 2 cups Cheese Sauce, however, when summing the amounts in the list of ingredients in the Cheese Sauce recipe, it was clear that it made less than two cups. The Cheese Sauce recipe called for 1/2 cup of grated cheese, but it did indicate that more could be used. I decided to use 1 cup of cheese so I’d have approximately the correct amount of sauce. All was good.
But, once I’d prepared the Cheese Sauce, I realized that 1 1/2 cups of diced potatoes didn’t seem like very many potatoes given the amount of sauce that I had, so I decided to peel, dice, and cook an additional potato. This gave me about another cup of diced potatoes, so I now had a total of 2 1/2 cups. (If I’d used whole-kernel corn, perhaps the amount of sauce would not have seemed to excessive – not sure.)
When I assembled the ingredients, I just stirred the corn and cooked, diced potatoes into the Cheese Sauce rather than layering; and, then poured into the casserole dish to finish cooking.
Whew, this recipe required lots of interpretation. Sometimes the recipes that look the simplest end up being the trickiest. This recipe required lots of little adjustments, but the final dish turned out well.
I combined the two old recipes into one. Here is the updated recipe for modern cooks:
Cheese, Corn, and Potato Scallop
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
1 cup milk
1 cup cheese (I used cheddar cheese.)
2 1/2 cups cooked potatoes, diced
1 – 1 1/2 cups canned corn (I used a small – 8.25 ounce can – of cream-style corn, which is a little over 1 cup of corn.)
Preheat oven to 400° F. In a saucepan , melt butter using medium heat; then stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Gradually, add the milk while stirring constantly. Add cheese, and continue stirring until the cheese melts and the sauce thickens. Add corn and potatoes, and reheat until hot. Pour into a casserole dish and put in oven; bake for 25 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and the sauce bubbly.
A Hundred Years Ago 
Wow it looks so yummm😋
It’s a nice dish.
Haha! I bet you wish you never started! Never mind, you’ve made it easy for us, so thanks.
Since I got this recipe out of a home economics textbook, as I was making the recipe, I wondered how the teachers using the book problem-solved the issues.
I am so happy to hear this kind of kitchen math happens to others! : )
Thought I was the only one ; )
It all looks de-lish and is a recipe I will use soon.
I have this kind of problem more often than I want to think about. You’re definitely not the only person who finds recipes where things don’t quite add up.
This is a good recipe. I have those ingredients on hand, which is saying something during these times. And I love scalloped anything. Yum!
You should give it a try.
mmh certainly looks and sounds delicious … shame I don’t live closer or I’d apply for the job of your official taster!
Wish you did, too. It would be fun to have an official taster.
you know I think it was meant to be my vocation .. maybe when restrictions lift I might visit for a trial run 😎
This recipe is a keeper! Perfect for Leona…Thanks!!
It’s wonderful to hear that this is a recipe that Leona might like.
I was vegetarian since five, now I’m vegan…but wish I wasn’t reading this….oh how I miss cheese!xxx
Shut your eyes. This probably isn’t the recipe for you. 🙂
This sounds dreamy, I appreciate the time you took getting the proportions correct for your updated recipe!
Jenna
I didn’t realize that there were doing to be issues until I into making the recipe, at which point it seemed best to power on. 🙂
hooo boy! This is my husband’s soft spot. Anything potato and cheese and cream. hoooo boy!
If he likes those ingredients, I think that he’d enjoy this recipe.
Oh, yes he will!
Thanks for “fixing” this recipe, Sheryl! It sounds delicious…especially for a cold Winter night!
It would be a good recipe a cold winter night.
I’m surprised they specified can corn back in the day.
This recipe was in a home economics textbook. Maybe the author assumed that students would be making this recipe during the winter months.