Tater Tots Are the Perfect Quarantine Food | Eater

"Invented in the 1950s by the frozen-potato makers behind the brand (now owned by Kraft Heinz), the Tater Tot began as leftover potato shavings from french-fry production and the company still holds the trademark on the name. When cooked right, the little fried nubbins offer a crispy, textured exterior that yields to a creamy interior, making them ideal both as a quick oven-baked snack—served with ketchup, beer, eggs, or a pork chop—and as a base for more elaborate preparations. They thrive in two quarantine cooking modes: the effortless “fuck it” option (sprinkle with seasoned salt, grated Parmesan, or herbs) and the more ambitious project-cooking route, from tots-waffles and tot-topped pizzas to fully homemade deep-fried versions (including a creative gelatin technique from Michel Richard). In restaurants and food trucks they’re often gussied up into loaded varieties—most famously totchos topped with cheese, salsa, olives, and sour cream—and into permutations like baked-potato tots, pastrami tots, longanisa tots, Tater Tot parm, queso tots, and bulgogi tots. They’re also the classic topping for Upper Midwest hotdish, and recipe-makers such as Molly Yeh have expanded the category with comfort-forward versions like chicken pot hotdish and harissa chickpea hotdish." - Meghan McCarron