Baked Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan Cheese &Bread Crumbs

It’s that time of month again – Secret Recipe Club time! I have to tell you, I am amazed at how much fun this is and how much I look forward to being paired with amazing food bloggers!

This month I was assigned to a wonderful blog called SteakNPotatoesKindaGurl. Desi has so many wonderful recipes over there that it was really difficult for me to choose just one! And then I came across it! Giada de Laurentiis’  Mashed Potatoes with Parmigiano and Bread Crumbs from Giada’s Family Dinners.

Mashed potatoes are one of those dishes that you serve and everyone feels like they’re home.

My darling had been away all summer working. I keep asking what he’d like to have for dinner. “Food. Food you’ve cooked, Mom. Other than that, I don’t care.”

Sigh. Just once I would like to say – “Hey, what would you like for dinner?” and actually get a response. Well, a response besides “I don’t know.” I don’t have a recipe for “I don’t know” and since they seem to request it so often, I am afraid of repeating myself too often by making it!

My son’s favorite cold any weather comfort food is meatloaf, mashed potatoes and string beans.

So we have a trifecta – the Secret Recipe Club, the triumphant return of the half-starved prodigal son, AND cold, stinky, rainy, summer-is-over, weather!

This recipe is really very simple and delicious. My guys are mashed potato purists, but that didn’t stop them from gobbling this up!

• 1 T butter
• 2 lbs russet potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 C milk, room temperature
• 1/4 C (1/2 stick) butter, melted AND 1 T butter
• 3/4 C grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper
• 1 T plain bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400°. Coat a 13×9 inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter.

Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes and return potatoes to the same pot. Mash well.

Mix in the milk and melted butter. Mix in the mozzarella and 3/4 of the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Transfer the potato mixture to the prepared baking dish.

Stir the bread crumbs and remaining Parmesan in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the mashed potatoes. Bake, uncovered, until the topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes.

NOTE: This recipe can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead of time, up to the point right before you bake it. Cover and chill. This recipe is also easily halved!

Desi, thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes with me! I hope I did this one justice!

There’s still time to stop by my wonderful Giveaway ~ $100 American Express gift card! So simple – follow this link and leave a comment! Winner will be picked September 29th!

Edible Containers – Daring Cooks

Really intriguing thought, don’t ya think? That’s what I thought when I saw this as a challenge over at Daring Cooks. Such a good idea that it’s a joint Daring Cooks/Daring Bakers challenge.

Perhaps it’s the thought of not washing a dish that intrigues me. But, wait, that can’t be so. The edible container still has to sit on something, doesn’t it?

So goes that theory.

The question became … sweet … savory … sweet … savory?

I thought perhaps a spun sugar bowl with beautiful strawberries … (stop laughing) … okay, I am laughing too. Who am I kidding?

Savory? Looking through the mountainous recipes next to my bed I came across frico – crispy discs of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese – which can be molded into shapes. I found my solution.

I used Giada’s frico cup method -

1 1/2 cups of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

I didn’t use the smallest holes on my box grater. I didn’t use the largest. I used the ones in between. If I had any sense I would have taken a photos of the grater to show you, sense wasn’t something I was necessarily born with!

Sadly, I wasn’t really holding out hope for this working.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Definitely use a silpat or parchment paper. Use 1/4 cup for each cup, flattening it out to a diameter of 4 1/2 to 5 inches.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes.

NOTE: My second batch I baked for less time, about 6 1/2 minutes, and had a better result.

Working quickly and using a thin spatula, transfer the frico to a muffin tin and put a glass inside to shape.

NOTE: ARE YOU FREAKIN’ KIDDING ME HERE OR WHAT? Totally didn’t work. I tried using the bottom of the muffin tin, but the muffin cups were not deep enough. I tried a juice glass. NOPE. The bottom of my cordial glasses were the perfect size.

If you don’t have the frico molded before they start to stiffen, pop them back into the oven for 20 seconds or so - they become pliable again.

Now that I had the edible container part sorted out, what to put in them?

I was roasting a cut up chicken (surprise, surprise) for dinner with Mediterranean spices and thought I would serve a tomato, cucumber and parsley salad to go along. Usually I toasted pita bread and break it into shards to sprinkle over the top, but the penny dropped and I thought what a great way to use the salad AND my beautiful frico cups.

I removed the seeds and pulp and then diced a couple of tomatoes. Then I peeled, removed the seeds from and diced a cucumber.  Chopped some parsley. A simple dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar and oregano and we were all set!

The frico are terrific. A little bite of crispy cheese, some yummy salad. A lot of oooohing and aaahing and a lotta gone! Isn’t that the end result we all want?

Tackling something I found a little intimidating is so empowering!

Torta de Pasta

One of my favorite dishes from Everyday Italian is Torta de Pasta. It’s quick and easy. It can change with your moods. You can use pasta just cooked or leftovers from last night’s dinner. I am not sure about your house, but we never have leftover pasta here!

This is adapted from Giada’s original recipe, though I added her original recipe here in case you’d like to try it. Mine, on the other hand, never comes out the same way twice. It always depends on what’s in the fridge!

• 8 ounces spaghetti
• 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 3/4 cup grated fontina
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain. Toss with the sun-dried tomatoes. Set aside to cool completely otherwise the hot pasta could curdle the eggs when you add them later on.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, salt, and pepper, Parmesan, and fontina to blend. Add the cooled spaghetti mixture; toss to coat.

Preheat the broiler. Melt the butter and oil in a 9 1/2-inch-diameter nonstick skillet over medium heat. Transfer the spaghetti mixture to the skillet, pressing to form an even layer. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the broiler. Broil until the top is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Cool in the skillet to room temperature.

Invert the torta onto a platter. Cut into wedges and serve at room temperature.

That was Giada’s. This was mine:

I used a pound of Barilla Whole Grain Spaghetti.  I like a thick torta.

While the pasta cooks, saute diced pancetta in a cast iron pan. I use this same pan to cook the torta in. I always keep 4 oz packets of Citterio diced pancetta in the freezer. Always good for a quick meal. Remove pancetta from pan and drain on paper towels. 

The pasta was cooked until al dente. Once cooked I put the pasta into a large bowl.  Add the pancetta. Add frozen peas. You want the torta to be studded with the peas. Add as many or few as you like.

Lightly beat 4 eggs and stir in about 1 cup of Parmigiano. Add salt and pepper. Add this to the pasta.  Mix well.

Melt 1 T of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the cast iron skillet. Add the pasta mixture and press down into one even layer. I put another skillet on top and put a large can of tomatoes on top to weigh it down.  Cook for about 8 minutes.

Slide a spatula under and lift up the torta a little. If the bottom is golden brown, gently flip the torta over. I put the skillet in a 350 oven for 15 to 20 minutes to makes sure it is cooked through.

Cut into wedges and serve with a green salad.

This doesn’t last long in my house. When it does, it’s good at room temperature for lunch the next day.

I do find myself waking up during the night and cutting a little wedge for myself … very Nigella…