Cold Potatoes

A leftovers note rather than a full recipe: cold boiled potatoes reheated in white sauce. The proportions are left entirely to the cook, so here is what the terse instructions assume.

• White sauceThe conventional proportions are 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons flour cooked together, then 1 cup milk whisked in and simmered until it coats a spoon. For about 1 lb of cooked potatoes, one to one and a half cups of sauce is enough to bind without flooding.
• "Run in stove to heat"Most likely the oven rather than the stovetop. No temperature or time is given; a moderate oven until the sauce bubbles at the edges is enough. The potatoes are already cooked, so the only object is heating through.
• Cut the potatoes firstCold boiled potatoes should be sliced or diced before saucing; whole ones will still be cold in the centre by the time the dish is otherwise hot. Firm waxy potatoes hold their shape best, since previously boiled and chilled potatoes crumble readily.
• SeasoningNo salt or pepper is specified, and unsalted white sauce over already-boiled potatoes is flat. Season the sauce well before it goes over, and a grating of nutmeg is traditional with this kind of milk sauce.
• The cheese version"Cheese can be used the same as above" is ambiguous: coming straight after the parsley, it may simply mean cheese strewn over the potatoes in place of parsley, though it can also be read as cheese worked into the sauce. If you sauce it, about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of a sharp firm cheese per cup of sauce, stirred in off the heat, keeps it from turning stringy or oily.
• BrowningThe recipe asks only for heating, not colour. If you want a top, scatter buttered breadcrumbs or a little extra cheese and finish under the broiler for a minute or two.
• YieldAbout 1 lb of cooked potatoes with a cup of sauce serves three to four as a side dish.