All such good ideas . . . I shall have no difficulty whatsoever using the 7 pounds of russets (for two people). I have a great idea for tonight. Stay tuned . . . . ;o)

Lidia Bastianich has a fabulous winter salad that she makes with russets, cauliflower, hard boiled eggs and a cider vinegar dressing. Sounds weird, but it is really good. I have her cookbook, but I think it is also on her website.

potato bread!

They make excellent twice baked potatoes which freeze well. Bake the potato, slice off the top,scoop out the filling carefully so that the skins remain together. Put the potato scraping in a bowl and mash. To that mash I usually add salt, pepper, cheese (cheddar or swiss or Parmesan work nicely, onion (green or white, even chives), sour cream. Mix that all up and refill the skin. Bake at 350 until nicely browned. They can be frozen before the second baking for a really nice side dish with little fuss at the time of baking.

Or you could make potato skins for appetizers.

Potato gnocchi - you can make a large batch and freeze some. Great to have on hand and you can put them in the boiling water directly from the freezer.

My grandmother would have made a delicious potato kugel - full of onions, eggy inside, crispy on top - to have with any sort of pot roast or braised meat. Ditto on the latkes too.

You could go back to the '80's standby of baked potato bar. I'm planning a light vegerarian dinner for my daughter and me this week of sauteed spinach with garlic and a little ricotta on a baked potato. I also like chili or even just salsa and plain yogurt in a baked potato for lunch.

I recently made a large quantity of chicken pot pie filling (sort of a stew) without the crust, and froze it in 10-ounce Pyrex dishes topped with mashed potatoes like Shepherd's Pie. My husband heats it up when I'm not home.

Also, make potato latkes! This recipe http://www.food52.com/recipes/7968_golden_panko_latkes_with_sour_cream_and_chives
calls for Yukon Gold, but russets would work, too. (And you'll blow through 7 pounds in no time if your boys bring friends over.)

I would make tortilla espanola. I know some people like to use waxy potatoes, but I like the texture that russets give. If you're into British-style comfort food, maybe a shepherd's pie.

My go-to winter soup is potato & my mom always made it with russets. Their starch helps it thicken without too much cream. I deglaze with some beer before the potatoes go in and it adds some depth. Mmmm.