Is It Tacky to Bring a Holiday Dish Made from an "Instant" Box?

Good grief, no. As long as it tastes good, who cares? I am not a make from scratch girl, so if it's tacky, I've been tacky all my life. I don't eat those kind of potatoes, but maybe google can help you re. reviews till you get more answers. Good luck!

Personally I would never bring a boxed potato dish to a party. It's very easy to make scalloped potatoes but even easier is the recipe below.

Try Potatoes Anna, the VERY simple recipe below. I make this all the time and aside from cook time it only takes about 20 minutes. You could double the recipe, I do not even peel the potatoes just scrub and rinse well. You also do not need the cast iron skillet, a pie pan or casserole dish works fine and inverting after cooking isn't necessary either. For a party I'd just serve it from the dish you cooked in.

http://www.marthastewart.com/338792/potatoes-anna

Good luck!

Go for it.
Make them in a nice casserole dish (maybe make 2 as the boxes are typically for a famy of 4) and go!
Don't sweat the small stuff!
Merry Christmas!

If you use a box, just don't tell anyone. Put it in a nice dish and I am sure nobody will notice.
I do have an easy recipe but I will have to go look it up in a minute, but it is reaaaally easy and mostly made from frozen hash brown potatoes, canned cream of chicken soup, sour cream, shredded cheese. I don't think anyone could mess it up and it literally takes 5-10 min to prepare. I will go check my recipe file and post it for you.

In a Hurry Au Gratin Potatoes:
1 1/2 24. oz bags or frozen hash brown potatoes
2 cans cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup melted butter
1/3 cup chopped onion

Mix all ingredients in a bowl
Place in a 9 by 13 casserole dish

Mix 2 cups crushed up cornflakes
1 Tbs melted butter
Sprinkle this on top of potato mixture
Bake at 350 for 30 min.

The best route would be to call the host/ess and tell them that you don't know how to make scalloped potatoes. Try to offer an alternate suggestion that you do know how to make and have the time to prepare. The host might actually tell you to use the boxes!

The differences between homemade and boxed scalloped potatos is blatantly obvious. I eat both, btw, so I'd not personally care if it came from a box, just don't attempt to hide it if you do go that route.

Unless your gathering is very small (4 people) you'll need to use multiple boxes. The packages do not make very much.

Well, don't take the box with you!

The boxed foods can usually use a little tweaking - would herbs, or extra onions, or extra cheese, make it taste less box-y? Once you've fixed it, put it in your prettiest serving bowl. You'd be surprised at how many people do this. It's fine. You can 'fess up later if you want to.

Which reminds me of a true story. Years ago, there was a wonderful German deli in town that sold the best potato salad my husband (who LOVES the stuff) said he'd ever eaten. One day he asked if I could get him a couple of pounds of it. So I went in and asked. The lady replied, "Well, why don't you just buy it the way we do?" and pulled out a huge can of Kraft Potato Salad....

Costco, has a good one.
Just heat and serve.
Easy.
Good.
Not expensive.

Sure, why not?
Even some fast food places serve "instant" pre-made stuff. Then they plate it themselves to make it look, homemade. I know, my friend who is in the restaurant business, even said so.

Or go to a deli/take out place, and order some. Then take it home, heat and plate it yourself.
I know people that do that per pot-lucks they go to.
They say so, they are not embarrassed. They are not cookers or don't know how to cook well.

I would not use a "box" type though.
Buy/use something that is already pre-made, then take it home, heat it up, you can garnish it with your own stuff/shredded cheese, parsley sprigs as decoration on the dish, to make it look nice.

No, it's tacky to come empty-handed.

Go for it--just don't make it there on the spot ;-)

I do not think I would bring instant potatoes for my assigned Holiday meal. I would try to find ones already made. Whole foods has a lot of options. I am not sure about scalloped potatoes though.

Costco is another option, but i always takes awhile shopping there.

Hi, J.:

Out of courtesy, one of the things that people look forward to is the home made dishes that people bring.
Ask a friend to make it for you.
Good luck.
D.

It's not something that I'd do, but you probably know the group that you're bringing it for, and whether they are a semi-homemade crowd. If I didn't have the time/had never made the dish, I'd probably order it ready-made from someplace that does catering.

The box scalloped potatoes is a family favorite around here. Sometimes I add some small diced ham pieces. I usually buy Betty Crocker brand. I just looked at a box - there is a website www.bettycrockerpotatoes.com that has ideas but I haven't ever checked to see what they suggest.

If money isn't too much of an issue, why not buy them from a deli or restaurant? Wegman's probably has them. You can reheat them right before dinner.

Yes very. Don't do it. Besides they do not taste good at all.

You could make the box mix but you should doctor up the product by adding additional butter, cheese and a bit of cream to make it better. Also you need to cook the potatoes so that they are not hard (undercooked).

Otherwise the real potatoes and cooking them is the call for the day.

the other S.

PS A pretty dish also helps to make the disk look better.

I think it's tacky. Scalloped potatoes aren't hard....Generously butter a dish. Mince up a bunch of garlic, put it in the dish. Thinly slice potatoes, put them in a pot. Cover with milk, throw in some nutmeg and a bay leaf. cook until just getting soft. Drain potatoes but save the liquid. Put the potatoes in teh dish, and cover 3/4 with the milk. Add cream till the potatoes are just covered.

bake for 60 minutes or until the majority of liquid is absorbed at 350 (I think, I'm doing this from memory and it's been a while). You can keep them on warm for another 30 minutes or so.

if you don't want to do this, buy them from Costco or a local grocery store.

Nope, not at all. I always make Kraft's baked macaroni and cheese and everyone raves about it! Sure, I add extra cheese and seasonings, but it's their recipe, which can be found on their website.

I'm sure it will be great!

No! This why it is a convenience.

Consider going on line to see if there is away to add to the box recipe to make it even better.. Maybe adding some sour cream, cheese, onions..

This way it will not be boxed, but assisted to make it even better..

I didn't know that there WAS another way to make them!!! LOL

I think it is fine. I just use the store brand ones I they have always been fine. I do like the idea someone had about sprinkling some bacon or shredded cheese or something on top to "fancy" it up. And definitely make a few boxes, depending on the size of the group. Just remember you may need to add a little cook time for that.

Hope not!
Any time I make homemade cupcakes for a function I always make them from a box. And they're a hit!!
I would totally do them from a box.
L.

If you don't want to use a box mix (acceptable, IMO), then go to a store and buy something from the deli or a frozen option. My pumpkin pie is from two cans and a frozen pie crust. My MIL buys the holiday dinners from the store and we just reheat it when she brings it over.

This is why I either ask people for their specialty or something generic, like "a salad" or "a side dish."

You can also look at http://allrecipes.com/ for an idea of the scope of the task.

It depends on the audience. I know people who would be fine with it, and I know people (foodies) who would not.

If you're bringing me food, I don't care if it came from a boxor if you grew it yourself.
As for brand, I haven't found any difference between the name brands and store brands.

Try not to do anything you haven't tried before! People are counting on you and you will feel worse if you haven't provided something edible.

That said, I think you can do any of 3 methods: try a foolproof recipe from a reliable source like Rachael Ray (she's big on making things simple) or Cooks.com; do an instant box; get something made by one of the stores like a big grocery chain with a strong catering operation, especially those stores that have a big ready-to-eat section (Wegmans and Whole Foods come to mind).

Yikes, I hope your host or hostess did not dictate exactly what you should bring -- I think it's not polite for the host to insist someone make something they are not already used to making!

I like the boxed stuff fine. Like others said -- use several boxes. To make it more homemade, crumble bacon over the top when it's done, or chives, or both.

Or if you have another dish you know how to make blindfolded, tell the hostess that you would prefer to bring that since you want to do something nice but not something you have never tried before.

If you "must" use instant, doctor it up with real ingredients. But really, can't you at least use something semi-homemade? You know, something half pre-made and half homemade? At least look like you attempted some effort. If you "make" something and your hosts and other guests can tell that it was instant then you might as well have not made it at all. It reeks of, "We're not worth the time or money."

At least see what your grocery store or a local restaurant might be putting out that you can buy all nice and fresh and delicious.