Dan Whalen

Listen to "Dan Whalen Releases Tots" on Spreaker. Americans love tots! In fact, they love them so much they consumed 3.5 billion last year. Restaurants across the country are dishing up all manner of tots, with some going so far as to devote entire sections of their menus to these little balls of heavenly potato magic. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, it’s no surprise tots have been popular for so long. Now home cooks can take their tot obsession to the next level, with a cookbook devoted entirely to this classic American comfort food:TOTS! 50 Tot-ally Awesome Recipes from Totchos to Sweet Po-tot-o Pie (Workman Publishing; May 2018; $12.95 US) by Dan Whalen, founder of the popular recipe blog The Food in My Beard and creator of over a thousand recipes. His most popular one, a video of a Quesadilla Bun Burger, has been viewed 24 million times! And he’s bringing that same playful, mouthwatering recipe magic to the tot. Filled with 50 irresistible recipes for everything from tot-based snacks and appetizers to main dishes and desserts, Whalen proves there is no limit to what the mighty tot can achieve. Surprising, simple, and delicious recipes include: Every recipe uses frozen commercial tots as its foundation, although Whalen also shows avid cooks how to make their own tots from scratch; he even includes veggie variations, subbing out the traditional potato for ingredients like cauliflower, sweet potatoes, or apples. There’s also an array of recipes for dipping sauces, such as Chipotle Mayo and Horseradish sauce, to class up store-bought tots without too much fuss. It’s TOT-ally awesome.