Monarchical Prerogatives

To be sick is to enjoy monarchical prerogatives.

-Charles Lamb

Ah, yes. To be sick is to enjoy monarchical prerogatives... queenly privileges like hiding under quilts, wearing bulky and terribly mismatched clothing, gulping down cups and cups of hot tea (and orange juice), and watching every girly movie available. Yup. Nothing like a sick day to make you feel like royalty, huh?

So as not to lose the entire day to my pounding head and body aches, I did make myself do something. I organized two overstuffed bags of scrapbooking things into appropriate craft files. I also cut a few quilt squares. In fact, I was fighting the cold-and-flu medicine for control of my hand/eye coordination when the phone rang. It was one of my dearest friends, a recent Central Asia dweller, who upon hearing I was sick immediately said, "Well, you have eaten, haven't you?"

Eat? Yick. No thanks. Although at her encouraging I made the long trek into the kitchen, hoisted open the refrigerator door, and took all of 2 seconds to glance in and think, Please, I can't eat any of this.

A few hours later, I decided that maybe she was right and food would help. The longer I sat implanted into the couch, however, only one thing sounded good: potatoes and cheese. Darn. I would have to make something. A quick recipe search revealed a potato gratin that I've had earmarked to try for ages. So, dragging a stool to the oven for support, I went to work. And soon, my friends, the perfect sick food emerged:

GRUYERE POTATO GRATIN

1 lb. red potatoes
3/4 cup coarsely grated Gruyere
1 large egg
3/4 cup milk, warmed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a shallow baking dish.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Peel potatoes and cut into thin slices (about 1/8-inch thick). Add potatoes and boil 4 minutes. Drain.

In baking dish, arrange potatoes, overlapping them, in 3 layers, sprinkling first 2 layers each with 1/4 cup Gruyere and salt and pepper, to taste.

In a small bowl whisk egg and add warm milk in a stream, stirring constantly. Season mixture and pour evenly over potatoes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake until top is golden and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

(This probably tastes even better than I realized, being that I can't feel my face and all. Once I'm better, I definitely plan to perfect this in time for an Easter dinner or two.)

That said, please excuse my sick self as I crawl back to the couch. I'm terrible company today. Besides, from what I can hear, I'm missing the end of Chocolat....

[Smile. Cough.]