Thursday November 27, 2008

Sour Cream Potatoes

I get nostalgic this time of year. I know, sickening, eh?

My Grandmother grew up in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Her family left Arkansas by buggy to Oklahoma and then ultimately by Model T to California where they scratched out a living during her high school years in the central California world Steinbeck was to immortalize. She ultimately married my Grandfather becoming part of a large farming family.

Last night my wife was sorting through a stack of recipes and came across one of my Grandmother's holiday delicacies. It started out "10# potatoes/1 cup butter melted/...". I remember when she first got this and started to follow it. 10 pounds she asked me?!? In my Grandmother's world either she was making large amounts because of the large numbers of people she was cooking for or she was freezing it for another day. She always saved every bit she could. Living on canal banks, doing piece farm labor, walking over the Grape Vine behind the car that couldn't carry them all, and like adventures had conditioned her to always be ready for a life of hardships that most people of my world couldn't come close to contemplating.

I was looking at the socio-economic conditions in the world the other day wondering if they could get any worse. I went sledding today thinking about eating sour cream potatoes, got and sent cheery text messages to friends and family, and realized life was good.

Sour Cream Potatoes
10# potatoes - peeled, cooked, cooled, and grated
1 cup butter melted
1 can cream mushroom soup
1 pint sour cream
1/3 cup chopped white onions
1 1/2 cup or more sharp cheddar cheese
bake 45 min at 350 degrees
( Nov 27 2008, 12:51:29 PM PST ) Permalink