The Most Perfect Food Gets Even Better

Is there any more perfect food than a tater tot?  Seriously -- crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside.  And who can resist all of the starchy goodness of a potato?  Tater tots are the perfect food anytime, but, they may well be the most perfect hangover food.  I almost wished I had a hangover when I made these puppies just to test that theory. Well how 'bout homemade tater tots that haven't been processed with who-knows-what additives and then flash frozen?  What 'bout homemade tater tots that you flavor to your own liking?

We recently hosted a milestone birthday party for our friend Colleen.  I set out to develop a 70's menu.  The first thing that I recalled as I started my research was that the cuisine of the 70's wasn't any better than the fashion of the 70's - the tater tot may be the exception.  When I googled tater tots, all I came up with were casseroles.  Casseroles I'm sure my mother once forced down my gullet.  Colleen deserved much more than a casserole made with canned soups so I decided to try my hand at homemade tater tots.  Homemade tater tots are a little bit of work but trust me, you won't even think about that when you pop one of  these in your mouth.  Truly a little slice of carbohydrate-heaven.  No more frozen tater tots at Chez Patton-Isenhour.  I may even give up my addiction to Sonic tater tots as well. 

Here's my basic recipe.  The possibilities of what you could do with this recipe are endless.  How about adding some feta and chopped up black olives for a Greek version?  Or manchengo cheese with some chopped up jalepeno for a little Mexican kick?  Leave me a comment with your ideas for variations -- I know you Pink Stove blogees are creative.


Homemade Tater Tots
makes 36-40

2 medium potatoes (I used russet)
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons of onion flakes
1 teaspoon of garllic powder
1 teaspoon of sale
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 cup of flour
vegetable oil for frying

Boil the potatoes until fork tender - approximately 20 minutes.  You want to be able to stick a fork in them easily but not so they fall apart.  Remove and cool until you can handle them.  Peel potatoes.  Shred with a box shredder.

Combine shredded potatoes, cheddar cheese, onion flakes, garlic powder, salt and pepper and GENTLY, gently stir in a large mixing bowl being very careful not to break down the potatoes.

Using one tablespoon of the potato mixture, shape into a tater tot.  After you have shaped your tater tots, lightly roll in flour making sure to shake off excess. You just want a very light dusting of flour.

Heat vegetable oil to approximately 350 degrees.  Drop tater tots into oil and fry for approximately 4-5 minutes until golden brown.  Make sure that you don't over crowd your fryer.  Drain on paper towels, season with salt (I used garlic sea salt) and serve warm with ketchup or sour cream/chive dipping sauce.

Stay-tuned, Pink Stove Blogees -- I've got a couple of incredible recipes to share with you. One is a sweet pepper bisque sent to me by my friend Jess that I adapted.  And with apple season coming up, I have an apple pancake recipe with apple cider syrup that will tempt anyone even outside the Garden of Eden!