The Great Potato Casserole Cook Off

We all have them. You know what yours is. It may be a jell-o mould, or a tuna bake. We all have old recipes that we make from time to time which we secretly love. Mine is my sister's version of my Grandmother's tater tot casserole. It is disgustingly delicious and unbelievably unhealthy. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or all three, but only about once a year. So, my friend Laura (a potato-phile) and I were sitting around one day and our topic of conversation meandered to this recipe. I boasted about it's down home goodness, and she countered with a recipe of her own. At that moment, we locked eyes, and knew we were headed for a showdown of the best kind! We decided to take our recipes toe-to-toe and invite our friend Lisa to join in the frey to mix it up a bit. To our surprise, Lisa had no such recipe hidden away in her ancestral pantry, but she was up for the challenge, and went foraging through the Internets for her contender.

The rules of the challenge:

1. The dish must be primarily comprised of a frozen potato product

2. The dish must use a potato product which is not used by any other competitor

Simple, right? I seized the use of tots immediately, feeling confident that it would give me an edge. Laura chose home fries, and Lisa tried a crafty move, attempting to use fresh sweet potatoes, but we squashed her attempts at health at once, reminding her that fresh potatoes, while tasting delicious, would automatically disqualify her. We agreed on a time and place for the showdown, and each went off in search of ingredients.

I had my recipe in the bag, or so I thought. I phoned my sister, thinking her recipe was my ace in the hole. She had made it for me a few times, and it was always good. She said she would give me the recipe right away, but it was more of a guessipe because she didn't measure, and had just kind of thrown components together according to what tasted good to her. She must have also used memory, because my Mom swears this is based on my Grandmother's recipe. I jotted down her approximations and rushed to the inner aisles of my local grocery store.

Back at home, I assembled the unappetizing looking ingredients, layering carefully, then "smooshing" as my sister had instructed. It burbled away in the oven as if in caution. Laura's casserole boasted an armour of buttered cornflake topping, and Lisa's was cloaked in high falootin' gruyere cheese. We assigned the husbands and children their roles as judges, and proceeded to serve our own brand of potato pleasure.

We sat at the table and ate. Each bite brought comments of family reunions, holiday meals, old recipes and dishes shared and some lost. We enjoyed laughter, complimented each other on our crafty use of broccoli, bacon, or cheese. The husbands had seconds, and thirds, the kids made silly votes for all of us, and then scampered away to play. The potato dishes had brought us together for such a night of mutual enjoyment and joviality, we completely forgot about the stiff competition which had spawned the event. We stayed up late, enjoying the night, the food, and one another.

Here are our recipes:

Hashed Brown Potato Casserole

2 lb package frozen hashed brown potatoes (cubed kind)

2 c sour cream

2 c shredded cheddar

1 stick butter, melted

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 package bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces, cooked & drained of fat

2 cups cornflakes, mixed with 1/4 c. melted butter

Place potatoes in a colander to thaw and drain. Combine sour cream and melted butter. Mix well. Add green onions, cheddar, and bacon. Mix in potatoes. Turn into a greased casserole dish (14x10). Sprinkle the top with butter covered cornflakes. Bake uncovered at 350 for 50 minutes or until golden brown. Do not assemble more than 2 hours before cooking. Serves 8 generously...

Potatoes with Leeks and Gruyere
From Bon Appetit, April 1999
Serves 12

2Tbls butter
1 lb leeks, thinly sliced
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temp
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup whole milk
3 large eggs
2 lbs frozen shredded potatoes
3 cups grated Gruyere cheese (about 12 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks, saute until tender, about 10 min. Transfer to a large bowl.

Blend cream cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg in processor. Add milk and eggs. Process just until blended. Transfer to bowl with leeks. Add potatoes and Gruyere. Stir to blend. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish.

Bake potatoes until cooked through and top is brown, about 1 hour. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool, cover, refrigerate. Rewarm, covered, at 350 for about 25 min.

Tater Tot Casserole

1 pkg tater tots

1.5 lbs sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

1.5 Cups diced ham

1 Cup chopped broccoli

2 Cups grated cheddar cheese

1 container of salsa

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Place frozen tots in a 13x9 baking dish

Add diced ham and chopped broccoli

Mix soup and sour cream together and spread evenly over top of dish

Top with Grated cheese

Cover and bake for about 45 min

Uncover and bake until golden on top

Provide salsa as an accompaniment

Serves 10

* do not allow potatoes to thaw before cooking