Best Potatoes Ever (According to Malcolm)

My nephew wanted a 'traditional ham dinner' for thanksgiving...for most of us, that meant au gratin potatoes.  For him, it meant mashed potatoes.  So, au gratin mashed potatoes it is.You'll need:

5 Lb Potatoes

8 Ounces Cream Cheese

2.5 sticks butter

3/4 cup milk

4 Cups Shredded Cheddar

3 Cups Shredded Italian Blend Cheese

1.5 Cups Panko

.5 stick butter

Cut potatoes in half, put in a large pot, cover with water and lots of salt.  Set to boil and cook until soft.  Drain. 

Heat oven to 350 degrees, lightly butter the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  In a large bowl, put the cream cheese and butter.  Put a cooling rack over the bowl.  Put the potato on the cooling rack, cut side down, push through the rack.  Remove the peel and discard.

Add milk and beat the potatoes until preferred consistency.  You may add milk if you like.  Stir in cheeses.  Empty into prepared pan, smooth the top, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  

Meanwhile, melt remaining butter and stir in panko.  After 30 minutes, remove foil, sprinkle with panko and return to oven to 15 minutes.

I'm Back - With an Adult Beverage

 Hello!  I am back again - this time to share a recipe I made for sharing on Christmas day while we did food prep.  Don't like coconut?  Neither does my nephew, but he liked this.  It takes several days, but most of that is just sitting and blending.  

What you'll need:  

750 ml bottle white rum

4 cinnamon sticks

13 ish ounces of unsweetened coconut milk

14 ounce sweetened condensed milk

15 ounces cream of cocunut

6 ounces evaporated milk.

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 - drop 4 cinnamon sticks in a bottle of white rum.  Let sit at least 24 hours. (You could measure out 1.5 cups of the rum and use 2 cinnamon sticks....but trust me, you will want another batch)

After rum has set, put all of the remaining ingredients in a blender, add 1.5 cups rum.  Blend.  Refrigerate for at least 24 hours, up to two weeks.  Blend before serving.

When serving, you may top it with more nutmeg if you choose.

Enjoy!