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What makes this dish great for Christmas morning? The same thing that makes it great for (an occasional) dinner: It’s quick, easy, and delicious. It’s also got sour cream, cheese, and a crispy topping. What more do you need to feel festive? Well, besides the presents and the tree and the lights and . . .
If you let the broiler heat up while you’re zapping the potatoes, you can get this ready in 15 to 20 minutes on Christmas morning, or any other time. But it doesn’t look or taste like something you threw together a few minutes ago. The only real trouble, besides the fat, carbs, and high calorie count, is that there never seems to be enough — it’s full of flavors and textures that just make you want to eat more and more. Oh well, you must have a few Christmas cookies lying around to fill up on.
(If you don’t want to microwave your food, you can put this dish off till later in the day, while you bake the potatoes in the conventional oven. I’ve even used cold baked potatoes, but they’re really not the best; a potato is never the same once it’s cooled.)
This dish started out as a quick dinner for my family. Finding that even a 12-inch pan wasn’t big enough for all the hash browns we seemed to need, I hit on the idea of using the broiler instead of the stovetop, which let me make use of a whole baking sheet. As time went by, the simple potato dish got more elaborate, but it still only has four essential ingredients. (As you may remember, I never count salt as an ingredient, but you don’t even need a pinch of it in this recipe — the two cheeses have all the salty taste it needs.)
- 6 medium potatoes
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- ½ cup sour cream
- Parmesan cheese for sprinkling
- Wash potatoes (but don’t peel) and cook on high in microwave till just tender — 10 minutes or less.
- Let them cool a few minutes, till you can handle them using a (clean) pot holder.
- Cut each in half and grate with coarse grater.
- Mix grated potatoes in medium bowl with cheese and sour cream.
- Grease a baking sheet.
- Spread potato mixture in a thin layer on the sheet.
- Sprinkle lightly, but completely, with Parmesan cheese.
- Cook under broiler for a few minutes, checking often, until Parmesan cheese is lightly browned.
- Serve immediately.
