Au gratin potatoes (p. 297)

I usually adore potatoes in all their forms, so I thought Au gratin potatoes (p. 297) would be a perfect addition to the dinner that my father was making.

I sliced potatoes as thin as I could and cooked them with half-and-half, salt, pepper, and a bit of nutmeg:



I buttered a baking dish and rubbed garlic over it (I doubled this recipe and made two dishes of it):




When the liquid FINALLY started to thicken (which took a really long time), I poured the potato mixture into the dish:



Topped it with cheese:



And popped it into the oven. The liquid oozed! It started oozing all over the oven. Dad was not concerned but I was--it was making a huge mess, so I slid foil under it.



To be honest, these au gratin potatoes were one of the ugliest dishes I've ever made. They had an almost gray tingue, which was not appetizing.



They were amazingly bland. Incredibly bland. There are so many delicious potato recipes out there, I can't imagine ever wanting to make this particular dish again. I think it was really under-spiced. Has anyone else made these? Did it turn out like this?