French Rustic Potatoes

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Is there anyone who is unfamiliar with what surely must be the most popular casserole in casserole nation? I’m referring, of course, to the potato concoction known as Party Potatoes, Company Potatoes, or Funeral Potatoes, depending upon the region in which you nosh. They have certainly been a favorite around here for many years. As a result, even though I love them, they began to bore me. I started thinking about it, and decided that I could give this recipe a much more complex taste by swapping out cheddar cheese for Gruyere and brie (the former proving a wonderful nuttiness, while the latter adds creaminess), and dumping those corn flakes for what we all really love, French fried onions. Face it, wouldn’t you rather have French fried onions than corn flakes? Corn flakes! I mean, really! So, here is my version, and it always gets raves. People are expecting the standard recipe, but are always pleasantly surprised with this one.

French Rustic Potatoes

1 32-oz. pkg. frozen shredded hash browns, thawed

1/4 c. chopped scallions

1 c. sour cream

1 c. grated Gruyere cheese

1 8-oz. wheel of brie, cubed

1 14.5-oz. can condensed cream of celery soup

1 6-oz. container French fried onions, divided

½ c. butter melted

¼ t. kosher salt

Few gratings freshly ground black pepper        

 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 2-quart casserole, or 9” x 13” pan with PAM; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine hash browns, scallions, sour cream, Gruyere, Brie, soup, and half of the container of French fried onions. Stir to combine. Drizzle butter over all and combined thoroughly (I use my hands and I wear kitchen gloves. I find kitchen gloves to be invaluable in cases like this. I recommend these.)