Appalachian Word of the Week -- TATER

One of the most versatile staples in our Appalachian family was the TATER. Easily accessible and cheap, the TATER easily adapted to nearly every meal.

No matter which variety of TATER we used or what we did to it, it excelled as a lip-smackin' part of the meal.

My brother or I often had to make a quick trip to a nearby roadside store to pick up some TATERS for dinner. Dad usually told me to get Arsh (Irish) TATERS. Sometimes he preferred the I-dee-ho (Idaho) TATERS. There were other varieties for special times--like new TATERS and sweet TATERS.

Fried TATERS

One of my favorite methods of cooking TATERS was fried TATERS. Mom always sliced some onions and put them in the iron skillet with the TATER slices. Oh, my goodness, what the fragrance would do to my nose and stomach!

We mustn't forget the other fabulous TATER dishes, though. Mashed TATERS are necessary for chicken or turkey meals. A baked TATER is a perfect side for a pot of homemade chili. Diced TATERS add the filler for a pot of homemade beef and vegetable soup.

French Fried TATERS

Of course, when we got to go out to eat at Creech Drugstore or the counter at Newberry's 5 and 10, we loved getting an order of French Fried TATERS and dipping them into ketchup. Later, when I was at school and could go out to eat lunch at Goldie's Corner Store or Mike's Drive-In, I loved having a corndog, hamburger, or hotdog with an order of steamy hot French Fried TATERS sprinkled with salt.

Whenever I was sick, my mom made a big pot of TATER soup. It seemed that when nothing else would go down -- or stay down -- that soup would hit the spot and heal me. Still today, when I feel under the weather, I yearn for TATER soup.

Homemade Fried TATER chips

Dad used to make a special treat for us by slicing TATERS really thin and dropping them into our deep fryer until they were golden brown. Yep, homemade TATER chips. Even Grippos don't compare to my daddy's TATER chips.

On those rare occassions when we had leftover mashed TATERS, Mom would use them the next day to whip up some fried TATER cakes. Oh, my, they were amazing with their pieces of diced onion and flour mixture, fried until golden brown in an iron skillet.

It's disappointing that as I age my dietitian instructs me to severely limit my intake of TATERS. I pray that when I get to heaven TATERS will once again be readily available, with no limitations. I'm dreaming of a breakfast of fried TATERS smothered in gravy.

What's your favorite TATER recipe? Do you have a special memory of a TATER dish?