Boxing Up Christmas

I am such a fan of setting up Christmas, but boxing it up has to be low on my list of things I like to do. It has a sadness to it...like that yummy, sparkly, festive, eat-anything-you-want moment is over. So, in honor of ending a chapter, I thought I would cook up something really fattening and delicious...something cheesy! I perused the recipes and "Golden Potato Casserole" was the ticket. It was requiring a whole tub of sour cream, a half stick of butter and cups and cups of cheddar cheese. Yum. As I've gotten older, and shall I say wiser (okay, let's say prissy), I am all about the fancy cheeses- brie, gruyere, gouda- but when it really comes down to it, cheddar rules the world.

So, on to my cheddar escapade. My grandma's recipe called for potatoes that had been cooked & chilled then grated, but I decided to use raw potatoes. I threw them in the food processor and had grated potatoes in seconds. I used a trick I saw on Tyler Florence's show- wrap shredded potatoes in paper towels to squeeze out all the moisture. (I thought I was so cool at this point.) I then followed the recipe and melted butter and cheese together; I let it cool and added the sour cream. I omitted the green onions for two reasons- 1) my wife is really picky and 2) I didn't have any. For the record, if I had them I would've added them. Hee hee.

I poured my dreamy, cheesy mixture all over my potatoes and kissed them into the oven...just 45 minutes until dinner.

Well, 45 minutes came and went. Apparently, my grandma knew what she was talking about. You have to cook the potatoes first. They were still crunchy, but the cheesy mixture was delicious (but you already knew that). Maybe 15 more minutes...no...maybe the microwave for a bit. Huh. Since we were starving and Christmas had now been crammed in any and all tubs and dragged kicking and screaming into the rafters, we decided to eat, regardless. Funny how melted cheese, sour cream and butter fixes everything- we decided they were delicioius, not revolutionary, just delicious. With every bite, I snickered to myself because I knew my grandma would get a kick out of this.

By the way, I added a Polynesian marinade to a piece of salmon. It had a great flavor; I mean it tasted Polynesian...who am I kidding! I don't even know what Polynesian tastes like. For crying out loud, I have never even been there. And, yes, I said, "for crying out loud." It reminds me of that movie where Hugh Grant says, "whoopsadaisy"! Bugger, I can't remember what that movie is called. Anyway, the salmon was great.

As it stands~
guests- 1
mistakes- one big one
emotions- 2
meltdowns- one big one
recipes- 2
recipes to date- 5

The Recipes

Golden Potato Casserole
6 potatoes, cooked and chilled
1/4 cup butter
2 cups cheddar cheese
2 cups sour cream
1/3 cup chopped green onion

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2-quart casserole. Grate potatoes into a large bowl. In a medium saucepan, over low heat, combine butter and cheese, stirring occasionally, until almost melted. Remove from heat. Blend in sour cream, green onions and salt and pepper. Pour over potatoes. Stir lightly and turn into a casserole. Dot the top with butter and bake for 45 minutes.

Polynesian Marinade
1 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup of honey
1/2 cup of sherry
1 clove of garlic, minced

Combine ingredients. Mix well. Pour over meat and let stand about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Drain. Brown meat lightly. Then add a 1/4 cup of the (reserved) marinade. Cover skillet and and simmer until meat is tender.