Jill Reilly’s Potatoes

This fall my wife Linda and I have been invited to cook for Buckhorn Llamas out of Bluff Utah. Our good friend and Outfitter Larry Sanford have put together another one of his famous Llama packing tours into the Bisti Wilderness area in Northwestern New Mexico.

Llama pack trips are great experiences. The experience allows you the benefits of walking through some of the most beautiful and interesting places in the Southwest. Backpacking allows you to get into an isolated area and really get great exposure to nature because you are on foot. Llama packing is the same thing but you have the Llamas carrying all of your equipment. Needless to say, this is a great way to see the sights.

Since each Llama can carry about 100 lbs.  it allows us to bring our Dutch ovens to cook with. This enables us to fix some half decent meals for everyone on the trail. One of the items we’re going to cook on our 3 day excursion is Jill Reilly’s potatoes. Who’s Jill Reilly? My sister in law. Jill is well known for her culinary expertise and the recipe below is a wonderful side dish for 10-12 lucky folks.

1 lb. extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
10 red potatoes
1 pint sour cream
2 cans of French’s dried onions
4 or more diced garlic cloves (sorry but as far as I’m concerned there is never enough garlic, so suit to taste)

Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender not mushy, cool, shred, then mix with just enough sour cream to make them wet. Add the cheese and garlic. In the appropriate sized (lightly greased) pan or casserole dish, layer the potato mixture starting with the onions then potatoes then onions. Put them in a preheated 350 degree oven until the potatoes are thoroughly heated. Then serve.

By the way, the leftovers make a great breakfast with a couple of eggs over the top. Yum.

Thanks Jill.

 Chef Barry Martin is a culinary wizard who spends his days as Director of the Oceanside Water Utilities Department. His artistry in the kitchen is legend around City offices and he and his wife Linda have the dream of opening a bed and breakfast in a tiny Utah village. Until that happens, Chef Barry will share some of his favorite recipes in each issue of Oceanside Magazine.