Cooking with Saki

It's turkey time!

To be honest, though, I don't really care about turkey. Thanksgiving is all about the side dishes! We have several people coming in from out of town to celebrate with us, which we are all very excited about. I enjoy spending time with our company, so I try to prepare several dishes that can be made ahead of time and then popped into the oven at the last minute to heat up. A family favorite is potato pie. Sounds weird, I know. ut it's one of those dishes that people are hesitant to try, and then end up scarfing it down and asking for the recipe. So here you go, interwebs. Grab your favorite celebratory pilgrim hat and head to the store because you will need

5lbs white potatoes

2.5 sticks of butter

1 cup half and half or whole milk

1/2lb ham, prosciutto or capicola, shredded (or ripped into tiny pieces)

1/2lb mozzarella cheese, grated

6 eggs

salt and pepper to taste

Before you begin, assess the situation. That's a lot of food. Are you planning on feeding a lot of people? Yes? Fantastic.

Peel and rinse the potatoes, cutting them into quarters. Place them in a big stock pot and cover with cold water. Boil until fork tender, then drain.

In a large mixing bowl, whip potatoes and butter, salt and pepper. Gradually add the milk (or half and half, if you're a true glutton) until it reaches the consistency you like your mashed potatoes to be. Taste them and make sure it's delicious.

Cover the delicious mashed potatoes with saran wrap and stick it in your fridge until it's cold throughout. This takes a long time. Resist the urge to eat the potatoes. I know they're good, but think of your guests.

Once it's cold, uncover and crack your eggs into the bowl. Mix it all up until well blended. This step is important, so don't flake out.

Butter an 11x15" glass pan, and spread half of the potatoes into it. Sprinkle half the cheese, then sprinkle all of your prosciutto on top of that. Go ahead and put the rest of the cheese on it. Pat it all down, and spread the rest of the potatoes on top.

Bake at 350 until it is puffed up and golden brown, usually about 45 mins around here. Let it sit at least 15 mins before serving