Congratulations, Laurie Willberg, from the hurriedly assembled team here at the GFG-Batesville Shard. Well done!
Laurie, dear reader, is the winner of Utah’s Own Funeral Potato at the Utah State Fair. Her funeral potatoes were the best in show.
Funeral potatoes are unknown in the UK but de rigueur at US funerals where the need for comfort/consolation food after the obsequies is better understood.
Americans don’t devour funeral potatoes only after funerals, they eat them whenever the mood takes them. Probably not ideal for someone watching their weight, but ideal for throwing down the hatch of a teenage boy.
For your delectation:
Southwest funeral potatoes (with Utah ingredients)
8 medium Russet potatoes
1/2 teaspoons sea salt (Redmond brand)
1 cup dry potato soup mix (Sawyer’s Premium)
2 cups water, boiling
1 cup low fat buttermilk (Meadow Gold)
1 cup sour cream (Meadow Gold)
2 cups grated jalapeno jack cheese (Banquet brand)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (Redmond brand)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
11/2 cup crushed yellow corn tortilla chips (Don Julio brand)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (Banquet brand)
1 jar black bean and corn salsa (Laurie’s Buffalo Gourmet)
Wash and scrub potatoes under cool water, place in a pot with enough water to generously cover. Add 1/2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil. Cook 30 minutes or until tender, but not soft. Remove potatoes from pot and place in a colander. Run cold water over potatoes to cool. When cool enough to handle, peel and dice into 1/2 inch cubes. Place in a large mixing bowl.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-by-13-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Place potato soup mix in a medium mixing bowl. Cover with boiling water, then whisk until smooth. Add buttermilk, sour cream, jalpeno jack cheese, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Pour mixture over diced potatoes and stir gently until the potatoes are coated. Pour into prepared baking pan.
Place corn chips in a resealable plastic bag and crush. Combine crushed chips with grated cheddar cheese. Sprinkle chip/cheese mixture over the top of the potatoes in the bake pan. Bake uncovered 45 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is slightly brown.
Remove from oven and cool slightly. Serve with salsa.
Serves 8 to 10
Thanks, Charles. How wonderful. As we’ve talked about before, Nigella Lawson writes wonderfully of the purpose and comfort of funeral food in ‘Feast’. Fruit cake, that’s what I think of as this country’s contribution to traditional funeral food. Ham salads don’t really hit the spot, do they? A bit like the traditional harvest suppers that many churches offer in the autumn.
Gosh yes, let’s not omit to feel proud of fruit cake. That’s our gift to the world. Never thought of that.
Ham salad doesn’t do it on all fronts. Wet and cold. Wholly lacking sugar, salt and all the other stuff that makes that vein in one’s forehead begin to bulge.