Sometimes, it really is all in the food, with little help from seasonings. Use Polish sausage, smoked sausage, frankfurters … or even pepperoni! Adapted from a recipe in The French Chef with Julia Child, This recipe is an invitation for creativity.

You’ll need:

2½ lbs. potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 large or 2 small onions, finely chopped
1½ cups Half & Half, light cream, or milk
2 eggs, beaten
½ to ¾ lb. sausage (Polish, smoked, frankfurters, etc.)
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. butter (for sautéing onions)
1 cup cheddar or Swiss cheese, shredded
salt to taste

Slice peeled potatoes about ¼ inch thick. Boil sliced potatoes in salted water until just tender, about 8 minutes. While potatoes are cooking, sauté onions in 2 Tbsp. butter in skillet until onions are translucent. Remove from heat.

Slice sausage into disks ¼ inch thick. In a 2-quart casserole dish, lay two or three layers, with each layer consisting of one-half or one-third, respectively, of the cooked potatoes and onion. Top each layer with the appropriate portion of the sliced sausage.

Beat two eggs and combine with the 1½ cups Half & Half. Pour mixture carefully over the top until the liquid reaches two-thirds to three-quarters of the depth of the contents of the casserole dish.

Break 2 Tbsp. butter into pea-sized chunks. Top casserole with the butter chunks and the shredded cheese. Bake uncovered in a moderate oven (that’s 350° F) for 60 minutes or until top just begins to brown (resembling a cheese pizza).

Let stand 5 to 10 minutes.

Dig in! (After the host digs in, of course.)