Day 157: Parmesan Vegetable Gratin

I think I've decided that I prefer outdoor cooking when its 40 degrees rather that 90 degrees.  I've had my first taste of DO cooking in the heat the last few days.  Whew!  Is all I can say.  But I try to never complain about the heat, so I'm loving it.

Did I tell you I'm entering my first ever DO cook off?  My little tiny town is having one as part of Genola Days on the 26th.  I haven't decided on a main dish yet, but I'm doing Tomato Upside Down Cornbread and either Rich Truffle Wedges or Lemon Whirligigs with Raspberries for the dessert.  Those will appear on the blog in the next week, so I'll need your help deciding which to do.  And yes, I do plan on winning at least 1 category, and hopefully more!  So watch out all you Genola-ites!  Okay, on to the recipe!

Parmesan Vegetable Gratin
14" dutch oven

Cream Sauce:

4 Tbs. butter
4 Tbs. flour
2 cups whole milk
1 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
pinch of nutmeg
dash of hot sauce (I used Frank's)
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter and add flour.  I used a 10" oven with as many coals as I could fit under it.  Whisk together and cook 5 minutes stirring constantly.  Add the milk a little at a time, whisking until smooth.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer; whisk regularly.  When sauce has thickened, add the cheese, juice, nutmeg, hot sauce, salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and set aside.

For the Vegetables:

2 small carrots
3 tomatoes
2 zucchini squash
2 yellow squash
1 red onion
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Dice the carrots in about 1/2" pieces.  (I sliced mine.)  Core tomatoes and dice to 1/2" pieces.  Seed and dice the zucchini.  Dice the onion.
Toss all the veggies in a bowl with salt and pepper and a little olive oil.  Place in your DO and roast at 375*  for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.  I used 1 1/2 rings on top and 1 ring on the bottom or 22 coals on top and 12 coals on the bottom. 
Drain off any liquid and pour the cream sauce over the top.  It should not be smothered, just lightly dressed.  Bake another 10 minutes.  Serve immediately.  Serves 6.

The Finished Product

The Review

My hubby and I loved this!  My kids- not so much.  The sauce was light and didn't overpower the veggies at all.  I'll definitely be making this again with fresh garden veggies.  My kids will just have to learn to like it!  : )  I didn't drain off the liquid before I put the sauce on, and you really need to or its to runny.  The original recipe calls for the veggies to be transferred to a baking dish for the last 10 minutes, but draining the liquid helps skip that step.  We give this recipe a B+.