My daughter was looking for a different potato recipe and found Potatoes Anna in our collection. This potato recipe is easy to prepare and creates an interesting dish to place on the table. This family night dinner idea side dish recipe is from McCall's Great American Recipe Card Collection (1973), The French Touch.
We did not have a frying pan I wanted to risk putting in the oven, so we opted to use a covered Pyrex baking dish to create our Potatoes Anna.
Though the extra three minutes over the stove would have probably given this potato dish an extra browning, the result was really grand. The whole family really liked Potatoes Anna and we will make it again, after we try the Potatoes Au Gratin on the bottom of the card.
The only changes I might make to Potatoes Anna would be to reduce the amount of butter used and perhaps mix in some shredded cheese and bacon bits or sour cream for a little recipe punch.
For Easter we decided to create a little appetizer for our family gathering: Baked Cheese & Tomato Fondue. This cheese dish recipe turned out to be a real hit. From McCall's Great American Recipe Card Collection (1973), Budget Stretchers.
The recipe is pretty easy to follow. However, the dish requires two days for completion. You build up your fondue the night before you plan to serve it, refrigerate it over night, and you cook it the next day.
My daughter learned a lot about preparation with this meal. The store we frequent does not sell grated or shredded Swiss Cheese. We were able to pull out the old shredder, which was fun. Grating the onion was not fun. We were in tears. It was a powerful onion.
I think this Baked Cheese & Tomato Fondue would make a nice side dish for a family dinner, as long as your having guests over or have a large family. The cheese dish recipe calls that it makes 6 servings. I really think you get more out of it.
You have to be a fan of Swiss cheese to eat it. The dish is rich and Swiss cheese is the dominant flavor. Well it does require 3/4 lb of it.
I believe this recipe could easily be cut in half. We did have a little left over and it refrigerated well to be served the next day-my husband popped it in the oven for lunch, it was still yummy! Here's how our Baked Cheese & Tomato Fondue came out:
I think Swiss cheese is a good cheese to use for it. The cheese melts fantastically and pulls through the fondue like pizza cheese does on commercials. I imagine you could use Mozzarella, but you would lose the flavor.
Frankly, I'm not going to change a thing with this appetizer recipe. I think it's perfect as it is.
