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Birthday party food does not need to be elaborate, just kid friendly, and in some cases, as for toddlers, age appropriate. The theme of your party will play a role in the kinds of food you are going to serve but does not necessarily dictate it.

Kids of all ages love to eat potatoes, so at your next theme party, instead of  buying a few packets of potato crisps,why don’t you make some mashed potato snacks?

This is another of my favourite recipes because you can change the basic mashed potato mixture into many different snacks by adding different seasonings, fillings and coatings. The mixture can also be used as a filling for cold meats. It can also be prepared a day or two before the party and kept in the refrigerator which will add considerably to the time management of your party planning.

How to make mashed potato snacks for a kid’s theme party:

Basic mixture:

-  4-6 large potatoes
-  Salt and pepper or seasoning of choice
-  Mayonnaise
-  Crushed potato crisps

To make:

Peel the potatoes by hand or use an electric potato peeler if you are short on time; add to water in a saucepan and boil until soft  Remove from pan and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Mash the potatoes, add salt, pepper and just enough mayonnaise to form a very stiff mixture. Leave to cool.

Form small balls or sausages and roll in finely crushed potato crisps of choice. Store in refrigerator until it is time to serve it.

Tip: Substitute the mayonnaise with cottage or cream cheese.

Ring the changes for different potato snacks:

• Seasoning

-  Aromat (flavoured seasoning salt)
-  Salt and white or black pepper
-  Lemon pepper
-  Celery salt
-  Garlic or onion salt
-  Soup powder of choice (be careful not to add too much to the
mixture as soup powder can make it too salt)

• Add to mixture

- Crushed potato chips
-  Grated Cheddar or cheese of choice
-  Grated onion
-  Finely chopped chives, chopped parsley
-  Finely chopped celery
-  Chopped nuts
-  Fried, crumbled bacon pieces
-  Hard boiled grated eggs

• Fillings:

-  Cheese cubes
-  Ham cubes
-  Gherkin slices
-  Vienna slices
-  Filled olives
-  Small radishes
-  Small cooked mince balls

• Coatings:

- Crushed potato crisps
- Crushed savory biscuits
- Sesame seeds
- Finely chopped nuts
- Finely grated cheddar or Parmesan cheese
- Finely chopped parsley
- Shredded biltong (if available in your country)

Other snack ideas using the mashed potato mixture:

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and pipe onto polony slices. Spoon the mixture onto ham or other cold meat slices. Roll up and secure with a toothpick or tie a chive around it.

To serve as a vegetable side dish, roll the mixture into bigger balls, put into fridge for 30 minutes, roll into beaten egg and dried breadcrumbs. Put back into fridge for 30 minutes to one hour and then deep fry until crumbs are crisp and golden brown.

Idea: If you look at the many different ingredients that can be added to the basic mixture, you should also take the age of your child and the party guests into consideration. Don’t stretch your budget by buying expensive ingredients when your child is still a toddler or a little older, keep to the basic mixture. Tweenies and teenagers will love the more exotic ingredients.

Tip:  When it comes to kid’s party foods, be on the safe side by contacting the parents of the guests and find out if their kids have any food allergies so that you can make special provision for these guests.

Enjoy the mashed potato snacks and remember to have fun planning your kid’s theme party.

All photos © 2007  Elsie van Rooyen