Cool, dark fall evenings move me to turn on the oven and bake or roast things, almost every night of the week. Always reluctant to fire up the furnace until hard nighttime frosts have become routine, bustling around a warm kitchen takes the edge off a chilly evening. As the days grow shorter and the nights longer, filling the house with the delicious, savory smells of roasting vegetables, a pot of simmering beans or a rustic pan of baking cornbread is a simple and nurturing act. Old-fashioned foods. Foods reminiscent of childhood. Foods from summer’s last harvest, tucked away for the long months ahead.

A colorful variety of potatoes, on hand from my CSA and a recent trip to Pete’s Greens in Craftsbury, Vermont (before the farmstand closed for the winter), turned my thoughts recently to making scalloped potatoes.

Having a fresh block of Bonnieview Farm’s (Craftsbury, Vermont) Coomersdale sheep cheese in the fridge, my scalloped potatoes became “au gratin.” The remaining ingredients all held some kind of local connection for me: cornmeal from Butterworks Farm (Westfield, Vermont); whole milk from Catamount Farm (Barnstead, New Hampshire) and a block of deep yellow Amish butter, also from Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. What a treat to cook with images of all of these places in mind.

As an adult, the tedium of slicing potatoes to 1/8 inch thick deterred me for years from making scalloped potatoes. My clumsy attempts were chunky, undercooked and not very satisfying. I remember my mother, for very special occasions only, patiently peeling and slicing potatoes for this dish. As I grew old enough to help, she emphasized the importance of very thin slices as being the secret to success. I’ve struggled since then to practice that kind of patience in food preparation.

Then came the era of scalloped potatoes in a box—add boiling water, bake and voila!—and I soon forgot the hearty homemade variety was an option. Actually, I then soon forgot the boxed variety was an option, flavorless and rubbery as it was. Those little hard-as-rocks potato wafers that never quite turned out tasting like potatoes. Thanks, Betty Crocker, but no thanks.

A year or so ago, I picked up an inexpensive mandoline, opening up a world of slicing opportunities to me I’d never known before. I’ve used it for carrots, onions, apples, beets, radishes—anything I can’t handle easily with a knife. Scalloped potatoes? Sure! Just give me a mandoline and five minutes to slice a couple of quarts of potatoes.

This is a richly satisfying casserole. I served it for a light meal with a roasted beet salad, which balanced its richness perfectly. It pairs beautifully with a glass of sparkling cider from Farnum Hill.

Scalloped Potatoes Au Gratin

• 6 potatoes, washed and sliced very thin (I used a variety of colors and shapes of potatoes)
• 2 cups whole milk
• 3 tablespoons finely ground cornmeal
• 4 tablespoons butter
• salt and pepper
• 2 oz. of aged sheep cheese (or any flavorful aged cheese that melts well)

In a buttered 4-quart casserole, layer one-third of the potatoes, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the cornmeal and season with salt and pepper. Layer the next third of potatoes, cornmeal and season again. Layer on the remaining potatoes, dot with butter and season again. Heat milk to scalding, being sure not to burn it, and pour onto the potato mixture.

Bake covered at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and grate or slice the cheese over the top. Return to oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Allow it to rest for about 10 minutes and serve hot.

What’s your favorite food to cook on a chilly fall evening?