It must have been a year? Or more? It was a while ago that I attended a charity event and was all "OMG MASHED POTATO BAR BZZZZZZZZZELFLURPGENIUS!" In plain English, that would be something like "A mashed potato bar! And martini glasses! How fantastic!"
I took note of the giant vat of mashed potatoes as well as all of the toppings that were available. There was cheese, broccoli, bacon, chives, and several other things. The basic concept was that you were to put the mashed potatoes in a martini glass and then top them with whatever you wanted.
I wanted ALL OF THE THINGS. Because, really, mashed potatoes go with ALL OF THE THINGS.
(An aside: In North Dakota, mashed potatoes are treated like french fries are in Pittsburgh. They go on everything. Sandwiches, especially.)
I made a mental note that the mashed potato bar/mashtini was the bestest idea ever and promised myself that I would copy the idea every time we had people over at our house.
And then I promptly forgot all about it. WHOOPS.
Fortunately, Bob Evans sent me some stuff about their Mad About Mashtini recipe collection and it served as the kick in the memory that I needed. They included a bunch of recipes for "Mashtinis" (Which, whatever. It's not like a martini glass is a prerequisite ... but it does make things more fun.). They have the Sweet Tater Twist Mashtini, Fiesta-Tini, and a bunch of others.
I like to tread my own path, so I decided to make a pseudo Cordon Bleu mashtini.
Of course, it's a vegetarian sort of pseudo Cordon Bleu thing going on, but does that really matter? What matters is that I found a way to stretch that last chik'n patty and a way to sneak some cheese into my kid's diet. I WIN.
It turned out suuuuuuuuuper good, so now I'm DEFINITELY going to remember to to a mashed potato bar at our next get-together. It's going to be fantastic, what with the Pizza Mashtinis, Mexican Mashtinis, Greek Mashtinis, and Chik'n Cordon Bleu Mashtinis that are going to be happening.
Chik'n Cordon Bleu Mashtini
1 chik'n patty, cooked and cubed
2 slices bac'n, cooked and diced
2 tablespoons shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)
Mashed potatoes (I used Bob Evans refrigerated mashed potatoes)
Pinch of salt and pepper
(Obviously, it would be super easy to un-vegetarianize this whole thing. Do so if you see fit.)
1. Cook the mashed potatoes.
2. Set all of the topping and mashed potatoes out, along with fun martini glasses.
3. Stand back and let the kids make their own dinner.
