Mashed Potato Casserole

Winner winner, turkey dinner! I was browsing the NY Times a few days before Thanksgiving recently in search of a good side dish. When I came across this I was about to pass immediately, but the reviews were so great that I had to give it a shot. What takes this from the average mashed potatoes (essentially all mashed potato dishes) to the next level of flavor is the crispy breadcrumb/parmesan crust. For the first time ever at Thanksgiving, there were no leftover mashed potatoes. Do it.

Ingredients

• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, and more for the pan
• 6 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ½ cups sour cream
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 tablespoons finely chopped chives
• ⅔ cup bread crumbs, ideally Panko
• ⅔ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Instructions

1. Lightly grease a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking pan. (If you have a deeper casserole dish that works even better since it'll hold most of the mashed potatoes.)
2. In a large pot, bring the potatoes, 4 quarts water and 2 tablespoons salt to a boil. Boil potatoes until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Drain.
3. Mash potatoes with 10 tablespoons butter, sour cream, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Mash in the chives. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Spread potatoes into the prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate for up to three days.
4. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, bread crumbs and cheese. Mix together until it forms coarse crumbs. Crumbs can be refrigerated for three days.
5. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle crumbs over the top of the potato casserole and bake until golden and crisp, 30 to 40 minutes.

Serves 12.