Thanksgiving Thoughts #5
By TwistieWhen I was a child, Thanksgiving was a magical time for food. There were certain dishes Mom made then and only then. Steamed puddings, cranberry sorbet, roast turkey…so delicious.
If there was one dish, though, that summed up what I was waiting for all year long, it was Patrician Potatoes. I waited breathlessly for that one. Potatoes were always a favorite of mine, but these were special. Mashed potatoes? Technically. And yet, they were so very much more. They were mashed potatoes liberally laced with sour cream and cottage cheese with rivulets of butter and crunchy toasted almonds on top. They were pure sex to me before I had any clue what sex was.
Imagine my delight when, upon looking in an old cookbook I hadn’t opened in years, Mom’s Patrician Potatoes recipe literally fell into my lap! Perhaps I’ll make it for Thanksgiving this year.
If you’d like to give it a go, here’s how:
Mom Twistie’s Patrician Potatoes
1 1/2 pounds potatoes
3 Cups cream style (by which I assume she meant ’small curd’) cottage cheese
3/4 Cup commercial sour cream (yes, she specified that)
1 1/2 Tblsp grated onion (feel free to add more; people were scared of onions in the fifties)
Pepper to taste
2 1/2 tsp salt (again, feel free to adjust)
1/4 Cup melted butter
1/2 Cup chopped, toasted almonds
Peel potatoes and cook in boiling water. Drain and mash thoroughly. Blend in cottage cheese, sour cream, onion, salt, and pepper. Spoon mixture into a buttered 2 Quart baking dish. Drizzle butter over the top. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake in 350f oven for 30 minutes. Let rest a few minutes before serving. If desired, place under the broiler for a few minutes to brown lightly.
May be combined ahead and refrigerated until baking time.
You’ll thank me later.
November 15th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Twistie, this sounds unbelievably delicious! I found out a couple days ago that I’m making Thanksgiving dinner this year as my mom is having shoulder surgery this week and will be in a sling for a month. I believe I’ll be adding this recipe to the menu!
November 15th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
You won’t be sorry, Cat. This is some darn good eating.
I hope your mother’s surgery and recovery both go well.
November 29th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
I cooked a duck and it was nice and crispy. I saved all the rendered duck fat to use another day.
Mother tried food shame, but I just didn’t care about all the hungry children in China or why I should eat for their benefit.