Party Potatoes

Somebody pilfered this recipe for me from the dining halls.

The original reads:

Nature's Own hash brown potatoes - 7 pounds
Sour cream - 1 pound
Cream of celery soup - 1 pound 8 ounces
Salt - 1 1/2 teaspoons
Ground black pepper - 1 1/2 teaspoons
Chopped yellow onion - 7 ounces
Shredded Cheddar cheese - 8 ounces
Shredded Cheddar cheese - 4 ounces

1. Mix all ingredientes (cheese 1) in a bowl, saving cheese 2 for later.  Place into greased steamable pans.

2. Cover with cheese 2.

3. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes.

I was actually thinking about these the other day and I'm glad to find I was right about the onion and sour cream.  I don't need 7 pounds of potatoes' worth.  Cream of celery soup comes in 10-ounce cans so this seems to be at least three recipes' worth, if not more.  I plan to try making it with white sauce instead of canned soup, in a portion suitable for mere mortals.  I'll let y'all know how it goes.

German Potato Salad 1974

I'm not sure who Rhoda was; I think maybe a neighbor when my parents lived in Ann Arbor.

6 medium potatoes, boiled in jackets (I used Yukon Gold.  Boil until *just* done.)
6 slices bacon
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons flour
1 - 2 tablespoons sugar (I used 1)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used 1)
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
Dash of pepper
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup vinegar (the plain white stuff)

"Peel potatoes and slice thin.  Fry bacon slowly in skillet, then drain on paper.  Sauté onion in bacon fat until golden brown.  Blend in flour, sugar, salt, celery seeds, and pepper.  Cook over low heat, stirring until smooth and bubbly*.  Remove from heat.  Stir in water and vinegar.  Heat to boil, stirring constantly.  Boil 1 minute.  Stir in carefully the potatoes and the crumbled bacon bits.  Remove from heat, cover, and let stand until ready to serve."

* I don't like greasy texture so I drained all the bacon fat, then reheated about a tablespoon to cook the onions.  When I stirred in the flour, etc., I got onions coated in dry flour and spices, not anything that could bubble, but when I added the water and vinegar, the sauce turned out just fine.  So you don't need to use a ton of bacon grease in this.

I peeled the potatoes because I was serving this to guests but if I were making it for myself, I wouldn't bother, especially with Yukon Golds that have tender skins.  I thought this was plenty sweet with 1 tablespoon of sugar so I would highly recommend you start low and add to taste (you can't make this not-sweet, though, since you need to balance the vinegar).

I overcooked the potatoes.  They should have sliced better and not broken up so much when I folded them into the dressing.  Oops.  Tasted fine, though.