Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Trader Tuesdays

So this is my recipe for mashed potatoes, which I've been led to believe makes very good mashed potatoes. WH LOVES them, which is gratifying.

Note that this recipe is based on the ancient art of eyeballing measurements.

So, you need:
Howevermany Potatoes, peeled and quartered
Sour cream
Cheese, grated (whatever kind you like... the more interesting the cheese, the more interesting the potatoes)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Paprika
1 large egg (or two, if you're making lots of mashed potatoes, or three, if you're feeding the whole town)

Boil potatoes until soft. It's ok to over soften the potatoes a little bit to allow for easier mashing. I am notorious for taking the potatoes off too early, but a lump or two just makes them more interesting.

Mash the potatoes well with your potato masher. Add salt and pepper and garlic powder to taste, sour cream (this is where the eyeballing comes in... sour cream is more forgiving than milk though... I'd say somewhere around half a cup, depending on how many potatoes you have), the egg, and the grated cheese. Beat the mixture with your mixer until combined and smooth. Spoon potatoes into an oven-proof casserole dish, sprinkle with paprika, and bake at 350F for anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. I often leave them in the oven until dinner is ready, which means the potatoes are always piping hot to serve.

Alternatives:
Instead of cheese and the garlic powder, add roasted garlic. (DO NOT ADD RAW GARLIC. YOU WILL REGRET IT.)
Instead of cheese, (or with the cheese... whatever) add any kind of fresh green herb... rosemary is especially lovely.
Instead of paprika, sprinkle the potatoes with Parmesan cheese or bread crumbs to make a crust.
You can control the fattiness in this recipe by using low fat or fat free sour cream or fat free plain yogurt, and leaving out the cheese.

2 comments:

Crimson Rambler said...

nummy nummy

Julie said...

This sounds delicious and I've got some potatoes that need to be cooked. Dinner! :)