Tater Tot Casserole and John

So, shortly after I started dating John, I moved to Albuquerque from Santa Fe. John worked very late at night and I would come home from work and cook a full meal. I would take it over to his apartment around midnight, so he would have something to eat for dinner when he got home from work. Most of the time, I was waiting for him by the time he got home and it didn't seem to matter what I cooked, he would eat whatever it was. Occasionally, he would request something specific, a repeat recipe maybe, but never picky.

Every now and then, John would offer to cook for me. What I learned through the process of eating home-cooked meals with him was that he had a few weaknesses when it comes to certain foods. Tater tots would be a good example- particularly when Napoleon Dynamite seemed to catapult tots back into their limelight. I don't know what I had prepared on this one particular night, but it was a casserole of sorts. John said, "wouldn't it be great if there was a tater tot casserole?" And of course I made a mental note.

The next day, I was googling "tater tot casserole" and finding dozens of horrifying recipes. I finally found one that I thought I might be able to stomach. Don't get the wrong idea- this is a heart attack waiting to happen. The recipe requires two sticks of butter, a pound of sour cream and even some cornflakes. That's only three of the dozen ingredients. I justified it because it has onion in it and that is a vegetable.

Well, wouldn't you know it, the casserole was a hit. Every now and then, maybe once a year, the casserole makes an appearance. Both of us realize that it is enough calories for a week and we shouldn't be eating it, but it is sinfully delicious...