Hey Steemians! It's Sunday and it is time for a savory dish!

ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL! All of these food photos were taken with my Nikon D5300 and my favorite Lens, the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G, Most all of the time, I cross post on my personal blog.

Can you believe it’s Halloween tomorrow? I can’t. Unfortunately I’m not sharing anything related to that at all, but what I am sharing is still pretty exciting I think. Well, I know it’s making me excited.

Quick side note before I get to that; for all of you fellow Gilmore Girl fanatics, did you see the trailer for the new episodes yet? Omg, my sisters and I are so excited about it, and they’re finally almost here! Based on watching what they put in the trailer, we agreed that it seems as if they’ve kept the whole thing true to the original mood and feel of the old ones. For me that’s super important whenever one of my favorite series or sagas is being added to because so many classics have been ruined by a terrible continuation (cough, cough….Indiana Jones..cough….)

Okay, sorry for my fan moment for the rest of you couldn’t care less -> back to these yummies that I’m supposed to be telling you about today! The actual translation from Spanish to English for Papas Duquesas is duchess potatoes and if you’re wondering what they are, they’re simply breaded and fried balls of mashed potatoes.

When I first heard of them I couldn’t help thinking that they were a bit redundant, you know, being carbs dipped in different carbs. It’s funny how there are some foods here that just don’t make any sense to us. Oh, like these things (which I don’t even know the name of) that are basically what a Mexican tamale would be if it had nothing inside, just a big glob of the masa corn mixture.

Regardless of whether or not they are sensible or whether they have any nutrition or not, my fam still loves these stupid little tater bites. They’re a really popular thing here in Chile too. Although, most of the places where you can order them are using the frozen and factory made ones even though they are super simple to make. Since we all know how drastic the difference is when you make things from scratch, I thought it would be fun to share a recipe so you can try them at home. So much better.

Of course, you know I couldn’t leave it at that. I had to put a spin on them and because my mind has been stuck on dreaming up new flavors for this Thanksgiving. We crazy Gringos still celebrate it even though we live outside the States now. I was brainstorming when the idea came to me and I was like “BINGO, Monte Cristo Papas Duquesas!” I just know that for you guys who will be celebrating Thanksgiving, these will be so great to use all of your leftovers and then even for all of you who don’t celebrate it they are still a must try snacketizer!

They can be fried or baked, I’ve done both ways (Not gonna lie though, frying them is pretty far superior), it’s up to you. The key to finishing off the Monte Cristo flavor is to make sure that you serve them with jam or jelly ( Hello, leftover cranberry sauce!) It might seem strange if you’ve never had of a Monte Cristo Sandwich, but it works and they are everything.

So are there any foods that don’t make sense to you guys? Mac’n’cheese pizza maybe? I’d love to know about any and all of them!

RECIPE

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: about 36 puffs

Ingredients

3 cups mashed potatoes
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup whole milk
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
100g(about 3.5oz) sliced ham, cut into cubes
100g(about 3.5oz) sliced turkey, cut into cubes
2/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese
2 cups seasoned dry breadcrumbs
oil for frying (optional)
Jelly or jam for serving (I like cranberry or raspberry, but any flavor will work)

Instructions

1. Combine the potatoes, butter, and milk in a medium mixing bowl and stir well then season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the egg and stir until combined. Add the ham, turkeys, and cheese, and stir together until evenly miixed.
2. Use a scoop or tablespoon to spoon out 1-inch balls (about 1 1/2 tablespoons each) of the mixture and drop them into your breadcrumbs and turn to coat all sides.
3. (For Baking:)
   Place them about 3/4 inches apart on a parchment lined baking tray and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown and crispy on all sides.
4. (For Frying:)
   Heat about 2 inches of oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat and carefully drop the puffs, a few at a time, into oil and fry on each side for about 1 minute until golden and crispy. (Alternatively, you can fry them in a deep fryer if you have one.)
5. Serve them hot with your favorite kind of jelly or jam.