Scalloped Potatoes with Bacon, Ham, and Leeks

Today i came up with a new recipe to take to a gathering of friends. The jury is still out on how it tatstes, but I am expecting it to be a hit. So here's what I did.

Ingredient list

• 6 slices bacon, chopped, fried crisp, and drained
• 6 oz ham, sliced thinly in to strips
• 2 leeks, halved, cleaned, and sliced thin
• 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced thin (1/8 inch)
• 2 oz. shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 oz shredded fontina cheese
• 2 oz. shredded gruyere cheese
• 2 oz. shredded romano cheese
• 3 tsp. corn starch.
• 2 oz shredded mixed white cheeses (Sargento store-bought)
• 2 oz. butter
• 1/4 tsp. marjoram
• 1/8 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup chicken broth

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the cheddar, fontina, romano, and gruyere cheeses. Add the corn starch and toss to coat. Set aside in the refrigerator.

In a large fry pan, fry the bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Reserve the bacon fat. Add 3-4 Tbsp of bacon fat back to the pan, heat, then add the ham. Fry until slightly crisped, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the ham and drain on paper towels. Clean the pan.

Add 2 Tbsp. bacon fat and the butter to the pan, melt, then add the leeks. Add a pinch of kosher salt and the marjoram and sautee about 3-5 minutes until translucent. Set aside.

Butter a 13x9 baking dish. Layer 1/3 of the potatoes in the bottom, then sprinkle with a little koser salt and 1/2 the nutmeg. Add a few grinds of black pepper. Then add 1/2 of the ham, 1/2 of the bacon, 1/2 of the leeks, and 1/2 of the cheese, evenly spread out.

Repeat the above with another 1/3 of the potatoes, season with salt, pepper and the remaining nutmeg, then top with the remaining bacon, ham, leeks, and cheese mixture.

Finally top with the last 1/3 of the potatoes. Now mix the heavy cream and chicken broth together and pour over the potatoes. Press down. Season slightly with salt and pepper, then finally top with the Sargento cheese-mixture. Cover with non-stick aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes covered at 325 degrees. Remove foil, increase temperature to 400 degrees and bake another 45 minutes until potatoes are tender (insert a sharp knife to test). Let rest 15-30 minutes. Serve.

That's all there is to it!