Everyone loves potatoes. We sure do at our house, and too often I cook too many — especially mashed potatoes, and I’m always wondering what to do with them.

Then not long ago my gourmet cook neighbor, Ruby, told me about a great cookbook she’d just discovered: One Potato, Two Potato, by Roy Finamore and Molly Stevens. While writing the book they cooked over 1,500 pounds, just to experiment with. Not only were there all kinds of ideas for what to do with my left-over mashed spuds, the authors also included tips on how to always cook or bake the best potatoes:

• Drain cooked potatoes in their skins on a rack rather than in a colander, where they continue to steam and get overcooked as they cool; in addition, those on the bottom often get crushed.
• Use a fork or a skewer to test boiling potatoes for doneness; a knife will just cut into them, making them seem more tender than they are. Also, the smaller the hole you make in the potato, the less chance it will get waterlogged.
• High-starch potatoes (like russets) make the fluffiest mashes; low-starch varieties (red-skin or long whites) are the best choice for roasted potatoes with a browned exterior and a creamy interior.

I didn’t know any of this! While I’m seriously thinking of buying this cookbook, I’m still looking for ways to deal with my leftover mashed potatoes today. A little hunting led me to some great recipes I plan to use this week. In fact, I even ran onto my aunt Annie’s recipe for potato pancakes. I share them here. Let us know what you think, and if you have ideas for leftover spuds, please share those with us!

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Leftover Mashed Potato Patties

Leftover mashed potatoes (about 1 quart)
1 onion, diced
1 egg
1 c. cheese, grated
Flour
butter
Salt and pepper

Combine mashed potatoes, onion, egg and cheese. Shape into large size balls. Roll into flour and flatten into patties. Melt butter in frying pan and brown for about 5 minutes on each side. Salt and pepper to taste.

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Leftover Mashed Potato Burger Pie

1 lb. cooked ground beef, browned with 1/2 c. chopped onion, drained well
1 (16 oz.) can green beans, drained
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can condensed tomato soup with 1/4 c. water
Leftover mashed potatoes
1 beaten egg
1/2 c. (2 oz.) shredded American cheese

Stir into ground beef, the beans, soup, water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Place in square baking pan. Add egg to potatoes and beat until blended and fluffy. Spoon over meat mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until heated through.

When beef is one sale, I brown lots of it with onion and freeze in cookie sheets. Place in Ziploc bags to use when needed.

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Aunt Annie's Potato Pancakes

2 c. mashed potatoes (great for leftover mashed potatoes)
Milk
Salt & pepper
1 egg, beaten
4 tbsp. minced onion

Mix potatoes, egg, onion, salt and pepper. Add milk until mixture stirs easily and can be shaped into patties. If you get the mixture too thin, add a little flour. Fry patties in a small amount of oil until brown on both sides.

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Donna's Salmon Croquettes

1 c. hot mashed potatoes (I use leftover creamed potatoes)
1 c. flaked salmon
Salt & pepper
1 tsp. lemon juice
Crumbs & egg

Combine potatoes and salmon. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Shape, roll in bread crumbs, then in egg and again in crumbs. Fry in hot oil 3-5 minutes. Drain.

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