Two-Tone Potatoes

Ok, I know many of you were thinking in the Pork Tenderloin post: 'Two-Tone Potatoes', what are those? And if you are Irish and grew up eating potatoes every night (I was shocked when I got married and discovered Mr. Restaurant Quality did not want potatoes EVERY night), the Two-Tone Potatoes really caught your eye. And, no, they do not have Guinness, The Jameson, nor Bailey's in them. Although, I will be making Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day, courtesy of a recipe from Darling Daughter #2. And, yes, they do have Guinness, The Jameson, and Bailey's in them.

Darling Son-in-law is particularly Irish in his love of potatoes, as demonstrated last night. So, here's the recipe.

Life is good........................


Two-Tone Potatoes

400 degrees
9x13 pan, coated with cooking spray


For the potatoes:

2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 Cup milk
1 Cup sour cream
1/4 Cup butter, softened
1 t. salt
1/2 t. fresh grated nutmeg
1/2 t. fresh ground black pepper

For the topping:

2 Cups, bread, cubed
2 T. fresh parsley, chopped
2 T. butter, melted

For the potatoes:

In 2 large pots of salted water, add Yukon Golds to one and sweet potatoes to the other.

Bring to boil and cook until tender (about 15-20 minutes).

Drain and return potatoes to each pot.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together milk, sour cream, butter, salt, nutmeg and pepper.

Divide mixture between the two pots and mash together until smooth.

Scoop mashed sweet potatoes into bottom of the 9x13 pan that has been coated with cooking spray. Use off-set spatula to spread the layer smooth.

Scoop mashed Yukon Golds evenly on top of the sweet potatoes. Use an off-set spatula to spread evenly.

The Topping:

In a food processor, add bread and pulse until about pea-size in texture. Pulse in parsley and butter.

Scatter over the potatoes.

Bake for 20 minutes.


My Notes:

This can easily be made early in the day and kept in the fridge.

As you can visualize when you read the recipe, you're basically making mashed sweet potatoes and mashed 'white' potatoes.

You don't have to use Yukon Golds; you can use any type of white potato.

I do not use 'fresh grated' nutmeg. I use regular store-bought ground nutmeg.

You may not need the entire liquid mixture. Add some of the liquid, mash it up until you get the consistency you like. Last night, I did not use all of the liquid.

The whole whisking business: note the butter is to be 'softened'. Heck, when whisking, the butter does not fully 'whisk' into the liquids. Quite abit of the butter ends up inside the whisk. I had to keep poking it out. The butter never fully incorporated. But the taste was as it should be.
Not the effect I wanted, but it's how the recipe is written. Next time, I am going to melt the butter and see if it affects the consistency of the potatoes.

If you do not have an off-set spatula, you cannot make these potatoes. (just having some fun)
Just use a regular spatula or even a dinner knife. But, if you do not have an off-set spatula, put it on your birthday/Christmas/anniversary list. Once you use it, you'll appreciate the understated efficiency of it.

If you do not have a food processor, you cannot make these potatoes. (I am serious.)
(No, I'm not.)
You can make the bread crumbs in a blender, or with an immersion blender. (or, you could use STORE bought bread crumbs -- horrors!!!) Then, just stir in the chopped parsley and the melted butter.

I use Italian parsley (flat leaf).

Back to the food processor. For years, I'd come across a recipe that included using a food processor. I did not have one, so I went no further with that recipe. I'd be watching Barefoot Contessa conjure up all sorts of food processor delights, in the time it would take me to say 'I wish I had one of those'.

Now I 'have one of those'. Mr. Restaurant Quality asked for a birthday list. Said same list had 'food processor' on the first line. Said same Mr. Restaurant Quality granted my birthday wish.

The bread crumbs for the potatoes were my maiden voyage with the food processor. Worked great -- in five seconds I had bread crumbs. But, it took me half an hour to get the dang thing started. Long story, but it involves having the bowl and lid locked into place correctly. I thought I had a defective food processor -- only thing defective are my mechanical skills, as Mr. Restaurant Quality, and all Darling Children know too well.............