If you look around my kitchen, you'll see that I own a lot of OXO kitchen tools. I find that they're comfortable to use and are of good quality. So when the nice folks at OXO offered to send me two hand-held Good Grips mandolines (one to try out and one to giveaway), I was excited at first. Then the anxiety set in...mandolines are one of those kitchen tools that make me a wee bit nervous...mainly because it's just so easy to knick (or slice) a finger. However, I love how evenly the mandoline slices everything so I was willing the give it a shot. I decided to try my new mandoline out on a pan of my special "twice as nice" potato gratin. (I call it "twice as nice" since it uses two different kinds of delicious potatoes.)
When I opened up my new mandoline, the first thing I noticed that was different about OXO's version was that it comes with a food holder that protects your hands and covers the blade when not in use. Also, you can control the thickness of your slices by adjusting the soft lever on the side (there are three thickness levels). You can then slice over a plate or hook the mandoline (it has little non-slip "feet" at the end) onto a bowl. My potato slicing went really fast and all my slices were perfectly even. I was pretty impressed with the ease of use. The best part though was that it was dishwasher safe, so clean up was simple (no scary scrubbing of sharp blades) and it doesn't take up much room in my kitchen drawer!
* To win your own OXO hand-held mandoline, all you have to do is leave me a comment on the blog under this post (not Facebook)- telling me about the dish you will make if you win the mandoline.
Please leave your email address or make sure your profile is public, so I have some way to reach you if you win. Open to US residents, who are 18 years of age or older.
This giveaway ends at 12:01am PST April 24, 2012. The winner will be chosen at random and contacted via the email address left with the winning comment. The winner will be asked for their name, age and mailing address. If the winner does not respond by 12:00 PM on Friday, April 27, 2012 with the requested information, a new winner will be chosen.
Good luck!
Disclosure: A Girl and Her Fork was provided a sample for reviewing purposes, however, I was under no obligation to write a review. No monetary compensation was offered or given. The opinions expressed are my true and honest opinion.
"Twice as Nice" Potato Gratin (recipe inspired by The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters)
Ingredients
2 Large Yukon Gold potatoes
2 large Japanese sweet potatoes
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup whole milk
3 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease 9 x 12 casserole pan with 1 tablespoon of butter.
3. Saute mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat. Set aside.
3. Slice potatoes as thin as you can and layer them one over another in the pan, in an overlapping fashion. Sprinkle potatoes with salt and fresh ground pepper (repeat with other layers).
4. A third of the way through, sprinkle with a layer of cheese (about 1 oz.).
5. Halfway through place a layer of mushrooms down.
6. Two-thirds of the way through, sprinkle another layer of cheese.
7. Finish up the potatoes. Pour in 1 cup of milk, it should reach the top of the potatoes (if it doesn't, add a touch more so that it does.)
8. Dot the top of the gratin with the three tablespoons of butter and bake it for about an hour. Halfway through the baking time, take the gratin dish out of the oven and gently press the potatoes flat with a spatula to keep the top moist. Sprinkle the remaining 1 oz. of cheese on top of the gratin for the last 15 minutes of baking. The gratin is done when the potatoes are soft and the top is golden brown.
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