All the advance prep for Thanksgiving really paid off, and our guests enjoyed everything from appetizer to desserts, followed by hours of laughter playing Cards Against Humanity (should be X-rated…not for the easily embarrassed).

The new mashed potato dish on the menu from NY Times cooking site was a well-calculated risk – everyone went nuts over it.  I adapted the recipe to use unpeeled red-skin potatoes instead of the recommended Yukon Gold, and lowered the baking temperature to keep the crumb topping from burning.  Besides kicking up your mashed potatoes to a higher level, this dish stands out for its make-ahead value.  Can be prepped three days in advance and baked while your turkey rests, provided you take it out of the fridge a couple of hours beforehand.  My only snapshot of the dish shown below was from our dinner table:

MASHED RED-SKIN POTATO CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS:

2 sticks unsalted butter (16 tbsp)

5 lbs red-skin potatoes, unpeeled, cut into chunks about 1″

2 tbsp + 1 tsp kosher salt

1-1/4 cups Daisy Light sour cream

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2/3 cup Panko

2/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano

1/3 cup finely shopped scallions

PREPARATION:

Lightly butter a 9 x 13″ baking pan (used my new Emile Henry baker – such easy cleanup, and it held the heat for serving)

In a very large pot bring the potatoes to boil in 4 quarts water salted with 2 tbsp of the kosher salt, and boil until fork-tender, 12-15 minutes.  Then drain and return to the pot to mash with 1-1/2 sticks butter, all the sour cream, 1 tsp salt and the pepper.  Then mash in the scallions and spread the potatoes evenly in your prepared pan.

For topping, pulse the Panko, grated cheese and remaining 4 tbsp butter in a food processor to form coarse crumbs.

At this point you can wrap and refrigerate the potatoes in their baking dish and the topping in a ziploc bag or bowl for up to 3 days.  On day of serving, let potatoes  come to room temperature, sprinkle the topping all over and bake at 350 for about 35 minutes, until the topping is  golden brown and crisp.