Mashed Potatoes with Bread Filling

(Shared recipe submitted by Tom Ryan.)

Tom writes: "This has been a favorite in my family forever. Even the in-laws are crazy about it. I like to joke occasionally that, as I was growing up (I was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey), I never realized most people didn't mix fried bread in with their mashed potatoes to eat at the dinner table."

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 slices white bread
• 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons butter and vegetable oil for frying bread
• 3 or 4 medium-sized potatoes
• 1/2 to 3/4 finely chopped yellow onion
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter
• 1 raw egg (see notes below)

Break up bread slices into crouton-sized pieces. Fry bread until browned in just enough melted butter and vegetable oil to moisten, but not soak. Stir bread while browning so it browns evenly. Keep an eye on the bread because it will burn quickly.

Boil potatoes in salted water with chopped onion until soft enough for mashing, then drain. Mash potatoes with butter and egg. Add milk, little by little, while mashing until potatoes are smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Fold bread into potatoes with a spoon until evenly mixed. (Do not use an electric mixer when adding bread. It will break up the bread and you will have breadcrumbs throughout the potatoes.)

Notes: If you are concerned that the raw egg will not cook thoroughly when mashed with the hot potatoes, use a pasteurized egg or egg product.

Disclaimer: This recipe was submitted by a contributor and has not been tested by TerisKitchen.com.