I already expected a lot of laughs when I got a package from my girl Teri. Why? Oh, I don’t know. Call it gut-feeling, call it intuition, call it a sixth-sense.

Or maybe it were the S.L.U.T napkins (stressed-out ladies unwinding together) she mailed me some time ago. Or the Tired Old Ass Soak bath salt, the Heavy-Duty Bitch tissues and pillbox that said: “It’s such a beautiful day I think I’ll surprise everyone and skip my medication“, that she felt was so ‘me’.

Now that’s Teri for ya.

What I didn’t expect was this beautifully old ‘The Southern Junior League Cookbook‘ filled to the brim with mouth-watering recipes that she put into the package as well. I don’t think she could have made me any happier, though I must admit the tired old ass soak worked wonders on me!

I flipped through recipes all afternoon and stumbled on a few (well, a lot, actually) of them that were right up my alley. So simple and tasty but so unDutch that I felt compelled to turn them into a posting and spread the love.

Now this one’s amazing: a fluffy mashed potato pie topped with creamy mozzarella, tangy tomatoes and Italian herbs. If you want to put some flavor into your mashed taters next time, try this one!

Ingredients:

2 pound potatoes
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella balls
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
3 tomatoes
1 oz butter
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
pepper & salt to taste

Optionally: nutmeg

 
Directions:

Isn’t it gorgeous? I don’t need all the fancy cooking, give me a cup of coffee and an old cookbook and I’m happy.

Peel and boil the potatoes in salted water for 25 minutes, until completely tender and mash them.

 
The original recipe calls for 1/4 cup of melted butter poured on top + 1/4 cup mashed into the potatoes. Nuh uh. Not afraid of butter, but I’m so not gonna put a stick of butter into a side dish, especially not since it already has tons of cheese in it. So I replaced the butter with milk.
 

I’ve added 1 oz of butter and 1/4 cup warm milk and kept mashing. The mashed potatoes will stay thick and firm, but that’s okay.

Season with pepper and salt to taste. I always add a pinch of nutmeg to my mashed potatoes; it’s a Dutch thing.

I don’t have a 9 1/2″ pie plate (should buy one, they’re pretty), so I simply used an oven dish and spread the mashed potatoes in there.

Thinly slice the mozzarella and the (peeled) tomatoes.

Place half the mozzarella on top of the mashed potatoes.

Put the tomato slices on top of the mozzarella.

Sprinkle the dried basil and oregano all over the tomatoes and cover the tomatoes with the remaining mozzarella.

And grate the Parmesan all over the casserole.

The reason I kept my mashed potatoes firm is that during the cooking process the tomatoes as well as the mozzarella will release liquid that seeps into the mashed potatoes and adds flavor. If your potatoes are real fluffy to begin with, it might end up as something you can drink through a straw.

Place the casserole or pie into a preheated oven and bake at 400F˚ (200C˚) for 25 to 30 minutes.

Until the cheese has turned golden brown on top.

And has melted underneath creating this gooey, cheesy, and incredibly tasty puree with the slight tang of the tomatoes and Italian seasonings. So good.

The only thing I might change next time, aside from cutting out a gratuitous amount of butter, is adding a little Parmesan to the mashed potatoes as well.

 
And Teri? Oh yeah, I’m plotting my revenge. She’ll come undone.