Mashed Potatoes

We are getting close to that time of year again. The time where we all eat too much, sleep too much, and watch too much football. THANKSGIVING! I posted many recipes last year leading up to Thanksgiving, but there is one star I left out. Not intentionally, there just wasn’t enough time in the month to cook it all, MASHED POTATOES!

I swear in the month of November I eat the ‘traditional Thanksgiving meal’ once a week, or so it seems. Come actual Thanksgiving I end up eating cocktail shrimp and chicken nuggets because that sounds better at the time. But for real, the last few years instead of cooking, my family and I go to the Country Club my parents belong to and load up on their buffet. Prime Rib, shrimp, chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs – it’s freaking brilliant. Then we go to my husband’s side for the traditional dinner, it’s a perfect combination, which requires elastic waistbands.

Anyway, I think there are two kinds of mashed potatoes in the world…Holiday Mashed Potatoes, you know, the smooth buttery kind with specks of black pepper that really need gravy. Don’t get me wrong, LOVE THEM. The rest all fall in the Loaded Mashed Potato category-at least in my opinion.  It may not be the bacon and cheese kind, but something to make them a bit fancier.

I like to think that these mashed potatoes fall under both categories. They are mashed, slightly chunky, definitely include cheese, and they taste great plain or with a bowl full of gravy. And because these potatoes are so traditional yet so fancy- again my opinion, but you’ll see, you can really have them all year round. Actually we often do, because I’m really not a Baked Potato fan. They just aren’t for me. So if we are having steak, roasted chicken, or another Birdbelly favorite- meatloaf, these are the potatoes that I make!

Ok, here we go: Mashed Potatoes!

The Process:

Wash the potatoes and, depending on the size of the potato, cut into halves or thirds. You want the potato pieces to be generally the same size for even cooking. Place them into your large (empty) pot as you cut them up.

I chose Petite Golds for a couple reasons, the most obvious would be their subtle buttery texture. The other would be that these have a thin skin that you don’t need to peel off, which saves so much time and the skin gives it great texture. BUT if you are making potatoes for a large crowd, the common russet are definitely more cost effective, but wash and peel them first.

Once all of your potatoes are in the pot, fill with water until covered by at least an inch. Add in salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once it has come to a boil, turn down to medium. Cook until the potatoes are tender enough to be easily mashed with a fork. Approx. 25-30 minutes.

Turn off the heat and drain the potatoes. If you use a strainer put the potatoes back in the pot after they have been drained.

Then using a potato masher, mash the potatoes to your liking with the butter. I like to get them mashed as much as possible, because the skins that I left on will give me the texture I want, but there are always hunks left, and I’m not mad at that!

You can use a hand mixer, but that will ‘whip’ the potatoes and could made them gummy. So it’s not recommended.

Turn your heat to low, and add all of the remaining ingredients. Stir until just incorporated. Serve Warm!

*Tip: Mashed Potatoes reheat REALLY well. Like they taste as good day two as they did day one. Similar to how soup tastes better the next day. SO if you are planning a big Thanksgiving meal, save yourself major time and hassle and make the potatoes the day before! You can reheat in the oven, stovetop, crockpot, or microwave!

Recipe:

xoxo,

birdbelly