Posts Tagged ‘dinner sides’

Creamy and delicious, mashed potatoes are a family dinner classic.  Who doesn’t love them?  There are many variations once you have a good basic recipe.  This is my favorite.

There are several keys to really good mashed potatoes with a nice texture and flavor.  First, avoid cutting the potatoes too small.  Doing so leads to a water-logged final result.  I normally only cut the potato in half, sometimes in thirds if it is a huge potato, but never more than that.  It is important to have a good sized pot so the potatoes are surrounded comfortably by water.  Finding that your potatoes are crowded or your pot boils over?  You probably need a larger pot.  I like to use a stock pot so I’m sure my potatoes have the room they need.

Another key is a good potato masher.  Using a mixer can lead to a gummy texture.  Hand mashing the potatoes yields the perfect texture.  Finally, the best flavor is achieved by adding course sea salt to your boiling water.  Boiling the potatoes in salted water gives deeper flavor without overpowering the natural flavor of the potato.  The amount of salt added depends on the size of the pot.  It is possible to over-salt your water but unlikely as you will eventually drain it off.

Ingredients for Creamy Mashed Potatoes

• 4-6 large russet potatoes - peeled
• course sea salt
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 dollop sour cream
• 1 splash heavy cream or half and half or milk
• pepper

Cooking Instructions

1. Boil peeled potatoes in salted water until they are tender when stuck with a fork.
2. Drain potatoes and return them to the pot.
3. Add butter and sour cream and mash all together.
4. When fully mashed, switch to a kitchen spoon and add cream/half and half/milk slowly as you stir to desired consistency.
5. Taste and add pepper and perhaps salt, if necessary (although you should not need salt if you properly salted your water).
6. Transfer potatoes to a pretty serving dish and cover to keep warm.