Culinary roots: Although reared in New England, Quatrano spent summer vacations visiting Georgia relatives. She and her husband, chef partner Clifford Harrison, have lived since 1992 on the farm in Cartersville that has been in her family since the 1830s.

Career highlights: She and Harrison were named James Beard Foundation's best chefs in the Southeast in 2003. In 2006, Bacchanalia was named one of Zagat's top 10 restaurants in the country, as well as the No. 1 restaurant in Atlanta for the 11th consecutive year.

Louie Favorite/Staff (ENLARGE)

LOUIE FAVORITE / Staff Comfort food par excellence, Anne Quatrano's Potato Boulangere is layers of potato and onion baked to a golden crispy tenderness.

Family (ENLARGE)

Mae B. Stiles with granddaughter Anne Quatrano and son Bill.

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Favorite childhood dish: Her grandmother's potato, onion and country ham casserole.

The story: "My maternal grandmother, my Georgia grandmother, Mae B. Stiles, was both environmentally aware and health conscious way before these qualities became fashionable. Her environmental awareness was under the very real guise of pragmatism. She burned, composted, buried and recycled. Her ultimate goal was to have no waste remaining.

"I was amazed at her dedication to this task. She even went as far as to recycle her vegetable poaching liquids into her potable water. To my disgust, this grayish-green liquid was kept chilled in the refrigerator and offered when we asked for a glass of water.

"I remember one dish fondly — it was a potato, onion and country ham casserole. To both my mother's and my recollection, it was sliced potatoes, sliced white onions and country ham baked in a mixture of chicken broth and whole milk. We are quite sure she would not use cream, as her health and fiscal regimen forbade this luxury.

"This was baked in a casserole dish until all components were soft and the top a golden brown. It was served as a main dish, possibly with some several-hour sautéed beans or a simple lettuce salad. I remember having this dish in the small slave cabin my grandmother summered in beside Malbone, the Stiles family antebellum estate along the Etowah River."

How she adapted it: "I think my affection for the dish we call 'potato boulangere' — or, the potatoes prepared by the baker's wife — is a result of this food memory. This dish was often the pillow for a large piece of meat left to slow cook in the embers left after a night of baking bread.

"The recipe, which we have developed over time, replaces the milk of my grandmother's casserole with a rich chicken stock, and although we usually do not stud this potato dish with ham, I have been known at home to add a little ham for memory's sake."

Potato Boulangere

10-15 servings

Hands on: 30 minutes

Total time: 3 hours

A mandoline makes this dish come together quickly, but as always, be careful when using one. To save prep time, slice the potatoes while the onions cook. Be sure to watch the onions while they cook to make sure they soften without browning.

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 onions, sliced

8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves removed

Salt and black pepper to taste

10 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced, preferably on a mandoline

1 to 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth, heated

4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick), cut in small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a heavy-bottomed skillet, add olive oil. Sauté onions and garlic until very soft and wilted. Add thyme and season with salt and pepper. In a large ovenproof casserole, layer potatoes alternately with onions, adding broth in between layers (you may not use all the broth). Season each layer with salt and pepper and dot with butter.

Bake for about 2 hours or until potatoes do not resist a fork and are golden brown on top.

Per serving (based on 10): 216 calories (percent of calories from fat, 25), 5 grams protein, 37 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 6 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 12 milligrams cholesterol, 116 milligrams sodium.

— Susan Puckett