Mom's Baked Mashed Potatoes

This is me and Mom and Molly, the Thanksgiving that GolfDad was in China on business (about 7 or so years ago).  

We had dinner at a friend's mom's house out in the California desert.  

It was a fun trip, even if we did sit in traffic on I-5 forever and later got a flat tire!

There are many recipes for make-ahead mashed potatoes, potato casseroles, etc., but the one Mom's been making for the last few years comes from Giada DeLaurenti's "Everyday Italian" and is WONDERFUL!  The key is the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses in the potatoes, and the yummy crumb topping.

This recipe can be easily doubled (which is what we did for our Early Thanksgiving dinner of 19 people, which yielded just enough leftovers to make Shepherd's Pie later in the week), and can also be made a day or two in advance - just allow for a longer cooking time (get the casserole out of the fridge in plenty of time to start coming to room temperature).

 BAKED MASHED POTATOES

4 lbs. Potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 C Milk
½ C (1 stick) butter
1½ C grated mozzarella
1 C grated Parmesan
2 Tbsp plain dry bread crumbs

1.    Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until they are very tender, 15-20 minutes.  Drain; return potatoes to the same pot and mash well.

2.    While the potatoes are cooking, warm milk and butter over low heat until butter is melted and mixture is hot – do not boil.

3.    Mix milk/butter into mashed potatoes; season to taste with salt and pepper.

4.    Stir in the mozzarella and ¾ C of the Parmesan.  Transfer the potatoes to 13x9 inch casserole that has been sprayed with Pam.***

5.    Stir bread crumbs and remaining ¼ C Parmesan in a small bowl to blend.  Sprinkle bread crumb mixture over the mashed potatoes.

6.    Bake at 400, uncovered, until topping is golden brown – about 20 minutes.

***Recipe can be prepared up to this point 6 hours ahead; cover and chill.  Remove from refrigerator 1 ½ hours before serving; let sit on counter 30 minutes.  Bake covered for 25 minutes; remove cover; sprinkle with bread crumb mixture and bake about 20 more minutes.