Parmesan Mozzarella Baked Mashed Potatoes

    (Slightly adapted from Giada de Laurentiias)

          Servings:  about 8

As we were having some friends over for dinner and I was trying to keep things simple, I decided to make mashed potatoes as one of our side dishes.  But how does one jazz them up for more than everyday fare?  Well, Giada came to the rescue and this one is on my “to keep” list!  It was delicious the first time around and makes great leftovers too (you can even smash them into patties and make potato pancakes).

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon butter
4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 ½ cups milk (I used 2%)

½ cup sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons Italian seasoned dry Panko bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter and set aside.

Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until they are very tender, about 15 minutes. Drain; return the potatoes to the same pot and mash well. Mix in the milk and melted butter. Mix in the mozzarella and 3/4 cup of the Parmesan. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Transfer the potatoes to the prepared baking dish. Stir the bread crumbs and remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the mashed potatoes. Recipe can be prepared up to this point 6 hours ahead of time; cover and chill.

Bake, uncovered, until the topping is golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes.