Manly Mashed Potatoes

Like many, I grew up on Sunday dinners. Most of the time, it was Mom who made the dinners, but when we were in San Antonio, it was Grandmommy.  Roast Beast, Fried Chicken, Pot Roast, Meatloaf. They were all great, but what made each one better was what went with them.

Then of course, there are the holiday dinners – which are really Sunday Dinners Gone Wild. Big ol’ turkey, roasted to perfection. A fat ham, glazed with honey and brown sugar. A succulent leg of lamb with all the trimmings. I’m drooling like Homer just thinking about it!

One thing most of those dinners had in common was mashed potatoes. Smooth, creamy and perfect for dousing in gravy. Now every mom in the world worth her World’s Greatest Mom coffee cup has a recipe for mashed potatoes. And there are plenty out there on the web. Later I’ll get to some fancier versions, but today I want to show you a basic recipe you can whip up with very little trouble.

For this one, you’ll need a potato masher at the very least. To make them even smoother, you’ll want a mixer. Mom always used her stand mixer, but I get excellent results with a hand mixer. Other than that, there’s nothing special to worry about. So let’s dive in!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. of potatoes – Yukon gold, white or red are all good
Salt
1 cup cream or half and half
4 tablespoons or more unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper (white, if you have it)

Instructions:

Peel potatoes and cut out “eyes.” (See notes, below.)

Cut potatoes into thick slices, about 1-1/2 inches.

Place potatoes in medium to large pot. Cover potatoes with cold water and add 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring potatoes to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes are softened enough that a knife slips easily into the middle of a slice.

Heat cream in small pot over medium heat.

Drain potatoes and transfer to large bowl. Mix on medium-low speed until mostly smooth.

Add butter (I go with a whole stick!) and mix until blended in.

Switch mixer to low speed and add hot cream in thin stream until all is blended.

Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

Option 1: Serve immediately.

Option 2: Transfer potatoes to large baking dish. Top with several pats of butter. Cover the top with foil and bake at 350° until butter is melted.

Option 3: You can make the potatoes a day or two ahead of time and keep in the fridge. If you go this route, reheat at 350° for 20-30 minutes or until heated through.

Notes:

For a more rustic take on this recipe, don’t peel the potatoes. Sometimes I’ll peel half the potatoes; other times I’ll leave the peel on all of them. It’s really all about how I feel that day.

If you want to keep your potatoes as white as snow, use white pepper instead of black.

Cream really is the best additive to this recipe because it makes the potatoes… well… creamier. But you can use half and half or whole milk instead. But at least try them with the cream first.

There you go: mom’s mashed potatoes with a bit of a Manly twist. Have fun, and don’t forget to:

Play with your food!

Lane

Did you like this recipe? What recipes would you like to learn? Leave me a comment and tell me your thoughts! (And don’t forget to LIKE this post!) Share it using the tiles below.

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