Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Mashed Potato Casserole with Smoked Gouda and Bacon

Baked Mashed Pots TS

I spent a lot of time laying in bed reading the March issue of Bon Appetite magazine over the past few days. Cookbooks and cooking related magazines are like a good novel to me. I can get lost in a good cookbook or magazine just as easily as I can in a good novel. This particular issue had so many recipes that I wanted to make, but since I don’t have unlimited time to cook and bake, I have to be choosy, so I chose this recipe by Rick Rodger. Baked Mashed Potato Casserole with Smoked Gouda and Bacon. Smokey cheese and bacon stirred into rich and creamy mashed potatoes, what more do you have to know…potatoes, cheese, and bacon. Nuff’ said.

Baked Mashed Pots plate

This is my entry for this month’s Potato Ho Down hosted by the fabulous Evil Chef Mom, aka Krysta.

I was so surprised that the recipe called for you to return the potatoes back to the pot to cook an additional few minutes. I always do that when I’m making mashed potatoes since I had seen Tyler Florence do it on a very old episode of How to Boil Water. I’ve never seen it referenced in a recipe until now. Letting the water cook out of the potatoes results in really fluffy and light potatoes that are ready to absorb all that yummy butter and milk.

Mashed Potato Casserole with Smoked Gouda and Bacon
Printable recipe
6 slices of thick cut bacon (preferably applewood smoked)
3 large green onions (white and pale green parts only), finely chopped
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
¾ cup sour cream
1/3 cup whole milk
¼ cup butter (1/2 stick)
2 cups (about 8 ounces) coarsely grated smoked Gouda, divided

Butter a 9x13 inch-baking dish. Cook bacon in a large heavy skillet until golden brown and crisp. Transfer to a paper towel to drain. Chop the bacon and place into a medium bowl. Add the green onions and toss to combine.

Place the potatoes in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover. Sprinkle with salt. Cover and boil with lid slightly ajar until potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20minutes. Drain well.

Return the potatoes to the pot. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until the potatoes are dry and a light film forms on the bottom of the pot, about 2 minutes. Add the sour cream, milk and butter. Using the potato masher, mash until almost smooth. Stir in 1 ½ cups of the smoked Gouda and bacon. Season with salt and pepper. Spread potato mixture in a prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup Gouda.

Preheat the oven to 375 and bake until cheese melts and edges of potatoes are bubbling, about 30 minutes (40 if chilled).

This recipe can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Cover and chill potato mixture and remaining bacon mixture separately.

Baked Mashed Pots

These were creamy and delicious, and Gouda was the perfect cheese to give them a smoky touch.

15 comments:

krysta said...

mmmm... i'm not sure how my recipe is going to stack up to everyone elses. i like the trick about returning the potatoes to the pot... i'm going to need to try this one.

Anonymous said...

It's bad enough that 90% of the recipes here are ripped off from other blog authors or copied from well-known publications, but now you're entering them into contests? How lame.

The Cutting Edge of Ordinary said...

What's lame is people who are too chicken shit to show their identity when they leave comments Anonymous. It's all good though. I'm sure you have a blog loaded with original recipes and I'm sure that tons of people visit it? Right?

Tell me....why do you come here in the first place...oh wait I know the answer...cause you're an asshole.

krysta said...

hey anon... first of all it isn't a contest... it a day where we all share our love of potatoes and exchange recipes(corny yes, roll your eyes all you want, i know i am)... which brings me to this...

"all recipes are shared. that's why cookbooks were invented and magazines are published. to share food and ideas it's not ripped off when you credit the article, publisher, and or author. which she clearly did."

why don't you just go away.

Bunny said...

There's always one in a bunch aren't there girls, you know the ones who don't know what they're talking about, then leave a comment that makes no sense. My family loves mashed potatoes, this recipe kicks them up to a whole new level, LOVE IT!!!

Anonymous said...

Potatoes, gouda and bacon. 3 of my favorite ingredients. You really can't go wrong. :) This looks perfect!

Jenny Saunders said...

Clearly someone on here is ignorant as to why people blog and how blog etiquette works. Lisa, don't give jerks like Anon a place to be a royal ass and the time wasted on chewing them out for they thrive on that attention! Love ya Lisa....

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said...

These potatoes sound fabulous with the gouda and bacon! Yum.

Vera said...

Delicious looking, truly comfort food, Lisa!

Anonymous said...

OMG this is awesome...just amazing sounding.

Anonymous said...

I always return my potatoes to the pot as well.

Hey anon...go suck an egg.

Doreen Frost said...

This sounds absolutely amazing Lisa..I just told my husband about it..I shall be making it this week.

As far as your Anonymous "A......"..you go girl....some folks have nothing better to do with their time then hurt and harass! Forget about them..they are not worth YOUR time!

Hugs,
Doreen

Anonymous said...

You had me at bacon! Great entry for Potato Ho!

As far as annon..sigh...just a jerk who should go away!

Travis Ulrich said...

My girlfriend and I have made these potatoes on a couple of occasions. We love to bake them in a shallow pan and broil a bit of cheese on top. It really makes for a nice texture.

Oh, also we leave half of the potato skins in. :)

Anonymous said...

Awesome informazioni, molte grazie allo scrittore dell'articolo. È comprensibile per me ora, l'efficacia e l'importanza è da capogiro. Grazie ancora e buona fortuna!.