Easter Sunday and gruyère potato gratin {recipe}

Does anyone else have an Easter village?

  

I got to my parents house on Sunday and it had been completely decked out in Easter and spring.  I wish I had more photos, but I was pretty busy playing with this guy and trying out a few new recipes.

{that's his best friend next to him}

I made a gruyère potato gratin and my first cheesecake.  I was pretty happy how both turned out.  {Okay, the cheesecake wasn't that pretty to look at but it tasted rich and thick and delicious.}

Our dessert table:

Please note there were only nine of us.

Combined recipes from here and here.

Notes:

 - More cheese is better.  This is a rule of life though, really.
 - You can prepare this ahead of time and refrigerate it.  If you do, let it warm to room temperature for about an hour before you bake it.

 - This recipe is really forgiving.  If you need to bake it at a lower temperature (say because there's a ham in the oven too), just bake it for a bit longer.

 - After it bakes the first time, if it looks a bit dry add more milk directly to the pan.

 - The longer you bake it uncovered the more the sauce will get absorbed by the potatoes.  If you want it more cheesy and saucy don't bake it as long.

My parents and my aunt.  Needless to say, Easter was pretty fun. :)

LMF