1/2 pound bacon
1 onion, medium and minced
1/2 pound cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup butter
Slice the potatoes in a food processor or a salad shredder. Immediately rinse in cold water in a colander. Put in a glass bowl and cover with cold water and a little salt. (These steps are important because they keep the potatoes from turning gray and slimy as they cook!) Cover with saran wrap and heat in microwave on high for 4 minutes. (This is optional; it reduces the cooking time, but you can skip it and still get good results--you'll just need to cook it a little longer.) Heat 12-inch Dutch oven on the stove and saute bacon and onions until bacon is crisp. (You can also do this in a skillet and then move to the D.o.) Melt butter in Dutch oven, then add potatoes after draining water off. Cover and cook 30 to 45 minutes with 14 briquettes on top and 10 beneath. The last 3 minutes lift off lid and add cheese. Put lid back on and let the cheese melt.
(Edited 11 July to add the changes Brian suggested. Thanks, B. You are the best husband in the galaxy!
You could probably skip the microwave step (like if you were making this dish at camp) and compensate by baking the taters a little longer in the dutch oven. Rinsing them after slicing is critical, however. This is what keeps them from turning gray. I put the oven on a propane burner to brown the bacon and onions in butter, then added the potatoes and a little bit of minced garlic (optional) and baked for about 40 minutes, adding the cheese for the last 5 minutes. I removed the lid once to stir the potatoes, about halfway through the cooking time. As usual, Celeste is a genius with the preparation, but she has no clue about the baking. (Love you, cupcake!) With a 12-inch oven you use 14 briquettes on top and 10 underneath. Keep them spaced as evenly as possible and rotate the oven every 10 minutes. This serves about 6 people (4 if they're really hungry, up to 8 if you have other side dishes to serve with it). We found it's really good with parmesan crusted chicken.
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