The only problem was the menu. It turns out my husband is not a big fan of my favorite Thanksgiving dish: potato leek pie. My family has made this dish for years, though it's evolved over time. We recently cut out the pie crust because we decided it was too carby. We were pretty pleased with that adjustment, but it was still a little too bland for Dave. This year, I figured out what needed to change. The pie needed some heat, and it needed some smokiness. Additionally, the pie wasn't so much a pie now that it didn't have a crust. I decided to add some cayenne pepper and some bacon crumbles, and I decided to cook it in a casserole dish rather than one or two pie dishes. I'm not really sure whether this makes it a casserole, a soufflé, or something else, but either way it's easier to serve!
Granted, I haven't yet sampled it (as it's chilling in my fridge for a few more days), but it looked and smelled so good, that I just had to share the updates!
The Toomey Potato Leek Pie (with italicized updates by Julia!)
Ingredients
- 3-6 leeks
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 cups mashed potatoes (use whatever recipe you prefer; my recipe made 4 cups with 2 pounds of Yukon golds)
- 2 cups large curd cottage cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 1 (8 oz.) container sour cream
- Cayenne pepper to taste (I used about 1.5 tablespoons. Seriously.)
- 1 wedge of parmesan cheese, divided
- 6-8 slices of bacon, cooked to a crisp, drained, and crumbled
- Paprika
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Trim the leeks to about 6 inches each. Cut into thin slices and rinse in a colander.
- Saute in 1T butter until wilted. I usually have to do this in two batches in order to cook evenly.
- Blend mashed potatoes through sour cream in food processor. Stir in leeks.
- Pour into 9x13 corningware, or similar casserole dish of your choice.
- Stir in cayenne pepper, to taste. Yes, I know I just told you to taste raw egg. Deal with it.
- Stir in half of the parmesan cheese and the bacon.
- Top the casserole (pie?) with remaining cheese and garnish liberally with paprika.
- Bake at 350 for an hour until set.
- Serve immediately, or cool completely and refrigerate. To reheat, bring to room temperature, then bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Freezes well.
Are you planning on updating any old recipes this Thanksgiving?
3 comments:
Remember the year that your mom garnished with cayenne instead of paprika? A foreshadowing of this future recipe? It sounds yummy to me!
Oooh, it sounds yummy! And right up my alley since it's crustless!
I've never heard of such a dish but it sounds delicious!
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