Holiday season and winters calls for some hearty, delicious baked dishes, warm wholesome soups, fresh breads and delicious desserts. Creamy Au gratins are perfect dish for the holidays which can become a dinnertime staple that the whole family will love. Au gratin dinner combinations are worthy of serving at holiday dinners and your guests will be impressed by them.

Au Gratin is a French Style of cooking where casseroles are topped with bread crumbs & butter & are allowed to brown by baking or broiling till you have a crunch. Sometimes cheese is sprinkled which melts & gets crispy .There are a different ways you could make an Au Gratin, with different vegetables, meat & seafood.

Au gratin recipe can easily be made ahead of time and then reheated when ready.This is definitely comfort food, made from scratch.The trickiest part of this recipe is making the sauce.A “Roux” is a French word pronounced ‘roo’. A roux thickens sauces and is usually a combination of butter and flour. If you want the sauce to thicken a little quicker, warm milk before adding to roux.

Au gratin is usually prepared in a shallow dish of some kind. A gratin dish refers to the shallow oven-proof container traditionally used to prepare gratins and similar dishes. Couple of steps involved in making a Gratin are

• Preheat the oven
• Prepare the vegetables or the filling required
• Make the Sauce
• Grease a Au Gratin Dish and Assemble the Gratin
• Bake till you get a nice brown layer at the top of the dish

Here are a few Au gratin meal combinations that you can make for the holidays.

Meal 1:Mini Potato Cheesy Au Gratin, Spring Onion, Pepper & Spaghetti Soup, Herbed Dinner Rolls & Classic Cheesecake

Meal 2:Spinach And Corn Au Gratin, French Onion Soup, Whole Wheat Seeded Loaf & Strawberry Coconut Trifle Pudding

Meal 3:Sweet Potato Gratin With Fresh Herbs, Minestrone Soup, Herbed Focaccia Bread & Plum Clafoutis

Meal 4:Cheesy Baked Potato Gratin With Sweet Corn,Vegetarian Corn Chowder Soup,Rustic Rosemary Garlic Zucchini Bread & Greek Yogurt Chocolate Mousse

Meal 5:Couscous Eggplant And Tomato Gratin ,Vegetarian Pumpkin And Chickpea Soup, Focaccia Bread with Sweet Onion and Capers & Healthy Fruit & Nut Watermelon Dessert

Meal 6:Baked Creamy Potato Gratin, Pea And Spring Onion Soup , Whole Wheat Rosemary Focaccia Bread & Black And Green Grapes Panna Cotta

Meal 7:Ultimate Potato Gratin Dauphinois, Tomato & Beetroot Soup, Sundried Tomato Focaccia Bread & Creme Caramel Flan

Meal 8:Butternut Squash Gratin, Cream Of Mushroom & Spring Onion Soup, Whole Wheat Oats And Pesto Bread & Lemon Frozen Yogurt

Meal 9: Ruote Pasta & Eggplant Gratin, Kale And Mushroom French Soup, Fennel Pesto Pull-Apart Bread & Banoffee Pie

Meal 10:Cauliflower And Broccoli Au Gratin ,Spinach And Tortellini Soup ,Focaccia Bread With Cherry Tomatoes, Basil Pesto And Goat Cheese & Vanilla Panna Cotta With Strawberry Coulis

Meal 11:Tomato Corn Au Gratin, Broccoli Almond Soup, Muesli Pumpkin Bread & Pumpkin Creme Brulee

Meal 12:Vegetable Au Gratin with Cauliflower Carrots and Beans,Red Sorrel Two Bean Soup, Roasted Garlic No Knead Skillet Bread With Olives & Pear Poached In Spiced Red Wine