2012 Foodies for Klondike Rose Contest: “I Want My Mommy!” Cheesy Potatoes

Yours truly is one in 20 food bloggers invited to participate in Earth Fresh & Klondike Rose Potatoes‘ 2012 Foodies for Klondike Rose Contest! No problem. I let homesickness provide me with foodie inspiration.

As a contestant I received this amazing gift bag complete with potato scrubbers, actual Red Skin Golden Flesh Klondike Rose Potatoes, an Earth Fresh hat, a gift card to help with expenses at Sobeys and “We’re Digging Potatoes” t-shirt which I am wearing right now. Very cool!

The Inspiration

When my mom ran out of ideas on what to make all her hungry kids, she came up with a cheesy potato recipe that we all fell in love with. She made this to get us out of her hair but what she did not count on is us requesting it practically every night from that moment on. I am sure we all still wake up in the morning every now and then dreaming of her cheese-drenched potatoes with pepperoni. Damn, so good.

I warn you, this is a cholesterol bomb. It is supreme comfort food. I came up with my own version that I wish was as good as my mom’s but you know how impossible that is. I promised my mom if I won anything in this contest I would share it with her! If all goes well,  we will have joint custody of a food processor, LOL.

“I Want My Mommy” Cheesy Potatoes Recipe

Put five medium red potatoes in a pot with slightly salted water and bring it up to a slow boil.

Cook potatoes until cooked right through, around 20-25 minutes. Check with fork for doneness. I love those skins so I just kept them on. Let cool until you can handle them.

Maple Glazed Spicy Chorizo

My mom used to make her potatoes with pepperoni. I decided to slice some cooked chorizo with the casing removed instead. I sauteed it until brown in olive oil and then added 2 tbsp maple syrup with a little Sriracha hot sauce. My sausage was mild but feel free to use hot sausage and omit the Sriracha.

You want to bring this together and reduce it over low heat to help glaze the chorizo without drying it out. It is a pretty dry sausage and it gets pretty chewy which I love.

If you want to use another sausage or pepperoni like my mom, go for it! I personally thought this tasted awesome. Smokey, sweet and spicy…

Back to the Potatoes

When you can handle the hot potatoes, slice around 1/3″ thick.

Saute in a large hot pan with olive oil. Sprinkle with generous amount of salt and pepper. For colour and to tie in the potatoes with the chorizo, I also sprinkled with smoked paprika. Saute both sides until nice and golden.

The Cheese “Sauce”

Now this is a little homage to my dad: Imperial Cheese. Half a cup to be exact. My dad LOVES this cheese and Reg has become a convert. It is very fabulous old cheddar. If you can not get it, just use your favourite super strong old cheddar cheese.

I put together 3 tbsp sour cream, 1 tbsp fresh chives, salt and pepper. This is a nod to my mom’s Latvian heritage. Wish I had some dill, bet that would have been awesome! When I told my mom I added sour cream, I think she was secretly wishing she had tried that years ago.

Now for the weird part… Bringing it altogether

Yup, that is right. Add 1 beaten egg. Move very quickly to coat the potatoes. Before you freak out, this is sort of how you do a carbonara sauce. I know, it freaked me out too but it works.

Once the potatoes are coated I add the cheddar, sour cream and a few tbsp of milk until the potatoes are covered in this super gooey cheese sauce. It will not be pretty to look at but man, delicious to eat!

Toss generous amounts of the glazed chorizo on top and add another dollop of sour cream. Oh man…

Do not be stingy with the chorizo! A big part of the joy of this dish is how the potatoes work with the spiced meat. Go for it!

This is not fancy food. This is what my mom calls peasant food. Sticks to your ribs and how could it not with all that cheese!

If you make this and have leftovers (seriously, never happened when I was growing up, LOL) fry everything up again and have them as home fries with brunch.

If you make this and find it is not flavourful enough, all that means is you have no seasoned enough with salt and pepper. Potatoes are sponges when it comes to seasoning. In order to taste all the flavours, be generous with salt and pepper.

Here I am attempting to work off all those calories on one of my walks! 

I live far away from farmers markets but with these potatoes, I could not tell. Super high quality, dense, delicious and earthy. Not a dish I would make every day but when I miss the comfort foods of home, I can make these potatoes and feel like I am hanging out with my family again. Contest or no contest, that makes this recipe priceless.