Potato and pear gratin

I recently joined a CSA ,and I had a surplus of awesome organic potatoes and pears on my hands. This lead to the inspiration for making a gratin of both - what could be better than potatoes and pears with cheese baked until bubbly and brown?

Ingredients:
2 - 3 small Yukon gold potatoes, sliced very thin
2 Bartlett pears, sliced very thin
1 cup gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp black pepper
Salt to taste
1 tbsp butter

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter the bottom and sides of a medium baking dish (I used a pie pan, but any not-too-big high-sided baking dish will do).

I found it easier to build the gratin once I had all my ingredients prepped, so there was no stopping to chop or grate. Slice the potatoes and pears into paper-thin slices. Grate the cheese. Combine the pepper, cayenne, salt and heavy cream. Then start layering ingredients into the buttered dish.

Put a layer of overlapping potato slices on the bottom of the dish. Top that with an overlapping layer of pear slices. Then top with half the cheese and pour over half the heavy cream mixture. Repeat. For a taller gratin, you can go for four layers in a tighter dish or up the amount of each ingredient and make a double tall gratin.

Cover with foil and bake until bubbly, 30-40 minutes. Uncover the dish and bake until the top is brown, another 10-20 minutes. Let rest for another 10-15 minutes or so before serving.

Note: the heat of the cayenne really gives the gratin some flavor. If you're not into the heat, consider trying some rosemary instead which goes great with pears and potatoes!