Friday Friend Recipe #190 -- Party Potato Skins

My Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown #190

(#willreallyfinishthissomeday)

My Favorite Mother-in-Law's Party Potato Skins

and you know all the whys and wherefores of this countdown, right? Homemade cookbook, friends contributed, Handyman said I couldn't/wouldn't do it, I'll show him, yadda yadda yadda....

...and the rest is cookbook history!

Oh...maybe I shouldn't have used a yellow plate.
Well, no matter what color plate they're on-- they're very good.
Warm with a crunchy skin and just enough soft, white potato still in the shell to fill your mouth with comfort -- that and the cheese!  And the bacon! 
Leave the green chili off if it's not your thing.

The first time I met the Handyman's mom, I didn't really see her.  It was late at night and the Handyman was hungry and instead of stopping at a restaurant, he broke into his mother's home while everyone was sleeping.  I guess 'broke into' is not the exact truth because he had a key to his mother's house. 

And I can't tell you the exact date we were on, when it happened to be that late at night when we stopped and everyone at his mother's house  was sleeping (he had teenage siblings for heaven's sake)--because I don't remember.

What I do remember is her refrigerator.

The Handyman wanted a sandwich and so he let us in with his key, went to the kitchen and proceeded to make the most tasty sandwich I'd ever had.

Her refrigerator had deli meat in white paper!

At my mom's house we had peanut butter, tuna fish and bologna. 

During real fancy times my mom would grind up a leftover pot roast and mix it with some Miracle Whip and relish for a 'spread' and man was that a fancy lunch!!

And once in a while some deviled ham.

But real deli-meat and  deli-cheese in white butcher paper? 

Never in my life had I seen anything so grand.

And where my mom had white Wonder Bread, Handyman's mom had some good cracked wheat bread.

The Handyman proceeded to make us a sandwich, while we whispered and giggled in the kitchen-- I couldn't believe no one was waking up to catch us.  He used all kinds of deli-meat, making it a triple decker and then,  AND THEN, he fried an egg and set it up on top of the sandwich. The yolk was  little bit runny and dripped down the sides of the roast beef and ham.  He then topped all of that  with cheese and lettuce and a tomato.

It was heaven on a piece of cracked wheat bread!

PLUS his mom used mayonnaise and not Miracle Whip like my mom did.  Mmmmm…. seriously heaven!

I often wonder what his mom thought in the morning when she saw a small frying pan and a couple of knives in her sink.

While I didn't actually meet her that night, I had a glimpse of her refrigerator and knew we'd be friends forever!

Years later, after we were married with kids, we went with my in-laws  up to Hood River, Oregon and boarded a paddle wheel boat for a trip up the Columbia River.  It was just a day trip, lots of fun and apparently--very windy!

The Handyman and I grew up on the Columbia River --and truth be told we might have spent our date that fateful night where I was introduced to the best sandwich ever,  walking along the river, holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes.  We didn't have a lot of money back then so a lot--A LOT- of our dates consisted of river walking. 
We love the Columbia River -- and when we retire are planning on doing the weirdest thing ever and following the river from start to finish--or finish to start, making side trips along the way.
I'll blog about it!

This river/paddle boat took us on a day trip down to the Cascade Locks where we ate at this wonderful little café overlooking the gorge.  It's so beautiful.
These little boys are now in their mid to late 30's and my father-in-law is gone, but when we go visit my mother-in-law she still has the best stocked fridge ever --and cracked wheat bread!

And that my friends is recipe #190 in the never ending countdown of the Friday Friend Cookbook!