Potato Casserole

I've had my fill of turkey. I had it for dinner Thursday, lunch on Friday and dinner Friday night. Enough already. What I'm really hungry for is a Kirkland Spiral Ham.

And the best thing to serve with ham is a potato casserole. This particular recipe is from Keri Venuti, who runs a gas station in Boulder, Utah. It's a casserole often referred to as "Funeral Potatoes". And while she does make them for funerals, she also makes them for weddings, birthdays, potluck dinners.....and she also served them for Thanksgiving!

What attracted me to her recipe is that the casserole is made from hash browns. God, how I love my hash browns! And to the hash browns she adds every blue-collar delight known to man....onions, butter, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, cheddar cheese and corn flakes! This casserole is decadent. But I think the reason they call it "Funeral Potatoes" is because, after you eat it, you'll think you've died and done gone to heaven.


Ingredients
1, 30-ounce package frozen shredded hash browns
9 tablespoons butter
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 cups corn flakes, lightly crushed
2 cups sour cream
2, 10-1/2 ounce cans cream of chicken soup
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated cheddar cheese


Directions

1. Set hash browns on counter for 1 hour before preparing this dish.
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In a small skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently until translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. In a small saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Once melted, combine butter and cornflakes in a small bowl.
5. In a large bowl, combine sour cream, remaining butter and cream of chicken soup. Add salt, onions, grated cheese and hash browns and stir to combine. Transfer to a 9" X 13" baking dish.
6. Top casserole with corn flake mixture. Bake for 50 minutes and then serve.

Wine pairing: If it's ham and potato casserole, a Merlot will perfectly fit the bill. If you're rolling in the dough, you'll choose Wine Spectator's number one wine of the year: Duckhorn Merlot Napa Valley Three Palms Vineyard, 2014. At Total Wine, that will set you back $84.99. If you're more frugal but still like a big bang for your wine buck, grab a Cloud Break Merlot for just $8.99.

Me and Goldie, 1956