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The Tater Tot Topic


Jason Perlow

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You guys are making my tummy hurt.

It's a good kind of hurt though, right? :biggrin::biggrin:

Oh well. I'll let you believe that if it makes you happy... :wink:

All I can say is...generally I can eat as much junk food as the next guy (the next guy who will admit it, anyway) but right now I REALLY feel the need for a very very green salad! :biggrin:

Even reading this thread is making me burp. That certain sort of fatty fast food burp. Phew. Help. I must exit....

Keep this up and you'll turn me to tofu and edamame. That would be a crying shame.

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OK, all this talk about tots got me motivated to go to Sonic for lunch. Even though I have lived in Texas for 7 years and have never been to Sonic before.

With great enthusiasm I went to the local drive-in restaurant. Who the hell designed the menu, Boston Scientific ...Guidant....

I ordered the Extreme Tots, a nacho like item that had cheese, ranch dressing, chili, Jalapeños and some other stuff on a bed of tater tots. This had potential! I could not help but wonder how much better this would be with quality ingredients. The cheap cheese and flavorless chili hurt, but at $2.99 how much can I complain. It paired perfectly with a cherry coke.

I think this calls for some experimenting this weekend with a Costco bag of tater tots and quality toppings.

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Around lunch time today, I had to go to Randall's (owned by Safeway) and my cart inexplicably veered into the frozen food aisle. When I got to the check out, I noticed that a bag of Tater Tots had found their way into the cart. :blink:

About 20 minutes in the DeLonghi at 400F on convection and I had tots that I would have sworn had been fried. I took the purist approach this time out. There is a smal can of chili and some good cheddar waiting in the wings.

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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I can't believe that no one has mentioned MEXI FRIES! I worked at Taco Slime (aka Time) in High school and Mexi Fries dipped in taco burger sauce (1000 island) was my staple meal! I still sucumb sometimes and go for lunch. mmmmmm, mexi fries!!!

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I think tater tots are far and away the best potato product in the frozen food section. They have just the right ratio of crisp/greasy to soft/squishy. And I cook them in the oven; they're plenty greasy that way!

But I'm starting to feel the mantle of Martha descend. Tater Tot croqumbuche? Tater tot rumaki (think about that one for a moment!) Tater tots roasted on sticks over the campfire instead of marshmallows? How about Tater Tot snowmen (stacking the different sizes)with pretzel arms and a scarf fashioned from a slim slice of red pepper? Bunnies with slivered almond ears? Stop me!

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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But I'm starting to feel the mantle of Martha descend.  Tater Tot croqumbuche? Tater tot rumaki (think about that one for a moment!) Tater tots roasted on sticks over the campfire instead of mashmallows? How about Tater Tot snowmen (stacking the different sizes)with pretzel arms and a scarf fashioned from a slim slice of red pepper? Bunnies with slivered almond ears? Stop me!

Stop you?!?! No way...keep 'em coming! :biggrin:

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

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Tater Tot Casserole II

Comfort food extraordinaire. The reviews are typically funny ("Loved this recipe but didn't have the cornflakes so I substituted saltines! Will make again!").

Though I'm a Tater Tot devotee, I'm not a big fan of the ones from Sonic. I find they are a little too "smooth" textured and not craggy enough to be a true tater tot.

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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I love tater tots!!

unfortunately my kids don't share my passion and yes they sell them in Japan....

today in my weekly food co-op catalogue there was a product called bacon-onion-potato, which is essentially tater tots with the addition of bacon and onions....

http://image.furima.rakuten.co.jp/image/it.../28264079-1.jpg

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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Like most things, these are great sprinkled with banana (or other type of ketchup) and Mrs. Dash.  :wink:

Soba

But Soba, have you tried them with a can of Spagetti-O's ever-so-gently warmed to perfection then poured over the top?

Even Darth Vader would love to sit down to a meal of this...heaven...sheer heaven.

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Maybe I skipped over it, but what went into the original "cafeteria-style" tater-tot casserole?

ground beef browned

small chopped onion

1 can cream of mushroom soup + 1/3 can milk

add to meat mixture

put in casserole dish

grate 1 cup Cheddar cheese over meat mixture.

top with 1 pound tator tots

A true classic and every single recipe for this looks virtually the same ... :rolleyes:

BTW, bloviatrix, I think that OreIda has some sort of rabbinical supervision now by some kashruth authority ... but, obviously, only when the Tots are served "neat", not in this milky-meaty casserole! :shock:

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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Like most things, these are great sprinkled with banana (or other type of ketchup) and Mrs. Dash.   :wink:

Soba

But Soba, have you tried them with a can of Spagetti-O's ever-so-gently warmed to perfection then poured over the top?

Even Darth Vader would love to sit down to a meal of this...heaven...sheer heaven.

I'll have to try that some time. heheheh.

hm, Chef Boy-ar-dee products do bring back memories....time for me to start another thread then. :wink:

Soba

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I have an earlier memory of Tater Tots from my Army days, 57 to 59. They were a staple in the enlisted mess hall at the Presido, S.F. and we often took them back to work and re-heated them in the autoclave in the lab. Hey, it was sterile.....

I can also remember being hit with a frozen Tater Tot propelled by a rubber band by one of my buddies. It hurt like the very devil, left a bruise and ruined my uniform skirt as the cleaners were unable to get the spot left by the grease out of the wool.

Edited by andiesenji (log)

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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BTW, bloviatrix, I think that OreIda has some sort of rabbinical supervision now by some kashruth authority ... but, obviously, only when the Tots are served "neat", not in this milky-meaty casserole! :shock:

You're trying to find reasons for me to visit the freezer aisle, huh? :laugh:

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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Actually the Empire latkes arent bad at all, we used to make them en masse at Hebrew school for Chanukah parties. No replacement for home made latkes though.

Jason Perlow, Co-Founder eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters

Foodies who Review South Florida (Facebook) | offthebroiler.com - Food Blog (archived) | View my food photos on Instagram

Twittter: @jperlow | Mastodon @jperlow@journa.host

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In view of the discussion currently raging here on Tater Tots, I thought it only fitting that I should purchase and consume (with much nostalgia!) a bag of Tater Tots tonight to commemorate another tension-filled election day ... any weight I gain will be purely because eGullet drove me to it ... :hmmm:

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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