Friday, November 29, 2013

Thanksgiving in the 40s and an Appetizer

In 1863 President Lincoln issued the Thanksgiving Proclamation which established Thanksgiving as a national holiday to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November. This was done in an effort to promote nationalism during the Civil War. Prior to that Thanksgiving celebrations were held locally at different times throughout the fall.

This was all well and good until the date was changed by President Roosevelt. As an attempt to heal a faltering economy, in 1939 FDR proposed moving the holiday to the second to last Thursday, allowing for an early start on holiday shopping. The idea was a bust as some states moved the holiday while others didn't. Confusion ensued for two years until 1941 when congress passed a law officially moving the holiday from the last Thursday of November to the fourth Thursday.

So there we have it... the 40s gave us Thanksgiving on the date as we know it.

I will in turn give... Potato Croquettes.

I am lucky because my step-sister (a wonderful cook) hosts Thanksgiving. I do like to bring an appetizer. It's a good chance to try something new; if it's terrible it just gets lost in the fray. No harm, no foul.

The first step in making the croquettes is to make mashed potatoes. I wasn't sure whether potato flakes were a thing in the 40s, so I made the potatoes from scratch. Easy enough... right?

Well... I put too much water in the pot, so when I added the potatoes they made the water overflow, which doused my burner, killed the flame, and jacked up the stove. I disassembled the range top, dried everything out and eventually got the entire burner to light. One. flame. at. a. time.

As I write this part (waiting for the taters to boil) the house stinks of gas and I feel a bit woozy. Good times.

To make the croquettes combine 4 cups mashed potatoes with 2 tbsp milk, 3 tbsp melted butter, 2 egg yolks, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 sprigs parsley (this is apparently a popular holiday ingredient and was all sold out), and a dash of cayenne (which I forgot - this is why I'm a bad cook, well that and breaking the stove, but I digress). Beat the ingredients together "until light." Shape the mixture into amorphous oblong shapes. Roll the shapes in breadcrumbs, then egg, then breadcrumbs again.

mmm... potato twinkies

Fry those babies in hot oil (385*) until brown.

Hot action shot

Here is the finished product...

I had my reservations, but this looks pretty good

Rolling mashed potatoes in breadcrumbs is NOT easy and I imagined they would fall apart in the oil creating some funky, hot potato slime for me to clean up. I am pleasantly surprised by the results. A sneak test revealed a bland flavor, but without the parsley and cayenne I can hardly blame the recipe for that.

I made them the night before so they needed to be reheated before serving. I found the best way to reheat is to place them in an oven set to 375*.  After five or so minutes realize that you are running late and turn the heat to 425*. Listen for the sizzle, it means you are burning the breading, but not warming the filling. Give up. Remove the croquettes from the oven and wrap in tinfoil. Place the foil wrapped plate on the floor of the car and crank the floor heater to high. Drive like a mad woman for approximately 40 - 45 minutes. Perfect.

I was a little nervous on account of the unconventional reheating method, but the croquettes were a big hit. Everyone really like them, even the little ones.

I will definitely keep this one in my repertoire as a base recipe. I think they would be good served as a plated appetizer if made with garlic mashed potatoes and paired with a chipotle aioli sauce. Mmmmmm....

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