Suzi and I wish you the happiest of Thanksgivings. And the tastiest. Making the best possible mashed potatoes is something we all want. It’s also something we often defer to the last minute and we rush and … Well, we can be a tad disappointed in the results. Although, with enough gravy, mashed potatoes are always passable. Here’s the way to make them perfect. You need a ricer, so I am posting this on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. There’s time to get that ricer, and time to make perfect potatoes.
I post this on holidays to aid you in that last minute scramble. I do hope you have a potato ricer at hand. Or one of those wire potato mashers. That will work, too. Do NOT, NOT use an electric mixer for your potatoes. You get wallpaper paste. Trust me. Manually is better.
Mashed potatoes, for a crowd. Oh dear, what do I do?
I’ve made these mashed potatoes following the recipe to the letter. This is, quite simply, the best mashed potatoes you will ever experience. Just do it. Don’t worry. Don’t change the recipe. Just do it.
You can email me a thank you at [email protected].
Perfect, Perfect Mashed Potatoes
Serves: 6 normal people, 4 potato fanatics
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ pounds russet potatoes
- 1 ½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- Kosher salt
Preparation:
Place the potatoes, whole and unpeeled, in a large saucepan. Add 2 tablespoons salt, and fill the pot with cold water. Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat, turn down the heat to low, and simmer for about 45 minutes, until tender. One type of potato may be done before the other, so check for doneness and remove one variety first, if necessary.
When the potatoes are cooked through, drain them, and set them aside to cool for 10 minutes or so. Heat the cream and milk together in a small saucepan, then turn off the heat. When the potatoes have cooled, peel them and pass them through a food mill or potato ricer. Put the riced potatoes in a heavy-bottomed pan. Heat them over medium heat a few minutes, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, to dry them out a little. Add the butter slowly, stirring constantly. “Slowly” here means about 2 minutes. The butter is going to melt from the heat in the potatoes. and that area of the riced potoates will become smooth. Add the subsequent butter to the areas that are not yet smooth. Season with the 2 ½ teaspoons salt, adding in increments and taste testing.
When all the butter has been incorporated, slowly stir in the warm cream mixture until you have a smooth puree. You may not need all the warm cream measure. Stop when you have consistency you desire. Taste for seasoning.
You can, though I never have, pass the puree through a fine-mesh tamis twice for an extra-smooth consistency if you like.
Ah, what is a tamis? It’s simply a sieve in shaped like a snare-drum, idea for squishing out potato puree.
Source: The A.O.C. Cookbook by Suzanne Goin
Photo Information [top]: Canon T2i, EFS 60mm Macro Lens, F/3.5 for1/30th second at ISO-320