NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
If you’re one of those people that look forward to Thanksgiving every year but it always seems to be overshadowed by Christmas, don’t worry. We’ve got you! If you’re like me, every holiday I find myself more and more in charge of the menu and with that, comes a lot of responsibility to keep things fun and exciting for your guest. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to not only try new things, while still sticking to the classics. One of the most versatile foods for your holiday should be your mashed potatoes. They’re a staple of the holidays and come in all sorts of different varieties. Looking to try a new one? Here’s a few different ways to spice up your Thanksgiving mashed potatoes.
First, let me start off with, these are going to be a very hearty mashed potatoes. Sure, plenty of people like lighter ones that are more buttery smooth but there’s nothing wrong with a good hearty mashed potato when you just want to lounge around and watch football with family and break out your comfy pants.
What You Need
Besides your oven, obviously ..
A large pot to boil at least a 5 lb bag of potatoes. If you’re friends and family love your potatoes as mine does, a large enough one for 2-3 bags.
A potato ricer. (https://a.co/d/1kW8PMk) No, you don’t need one, but I promise you, once you have one, you may never go back to the old way of doing it.
Hand mixer or Kitchen-Aid stand mixer. I prefer a stand mixer as usually I am trying to multitask, but I also know they can be pricey.
Measuring cups/spoons. I can hear you now “But we measure with love.” or “I season until. my ancestors tell me to stop” which is fine, but if your guests are loading up on gravy to cut the saltiness of your food, consistency is king in the kitchen.
Small sauce pan (optional).
Ingredients: 5 lb bag of potatoes(which ever kind is up to you, but I go white), 1-8 oz block of cream cheese per bag, 1-16 oz pint heavy cream, salt, pepper, butter to top.
Making Potatoes:
Peel and dice you potatoes, then boil your taters until their fork tender. If you like a bit of texture, you can leave the skins on, they just won’t go through the ricer.
If you’re using a sauce pan as I do, cube up your cream cheese, warm up your heavy cream in your sauce pan and drop in the cream cheese. This step is 100% completely optional as you can mix them right in your cooked potatoes,, they just won’t be as hot or creamy.
Rice your potatoes. Remember when you were a kid and you put Play-Doh through the little tools. That’s what your’e doing here. It makes potato strands smooth like little pieces of rice. If you’re big on texture it’s a game changer.
Slowly poor your (room temp) cream cheese/heavy cream blend, add in your seasonings and you’re done. I don’t judge so put in as much salt or pepper as your heart desires, but that’s it.
Here’s the sell. I have family members who aren’t a huge fan of mashed potatoes and still went back for seconds on these. The mark of a good mashed potato is easily measured by how much gravy you see people put on, and these don’t require gravy if done correctly. That’s not a brag and if you like gravy, go for it!
Optional Variety:
This is where we get to be a little creative. Like I said, I make a lot of potatoes on the holidays and two different varieties that mix things up and scratch a few different itches with flavor are onion and chive and garlic aioli.
Onion and chive: just mix an 8 oz block of room temperature Philadelphia onion and chive cream cheese instead of original.
Garlic Aoili: Just add garlic aioli to the mixture before serving, just go light if you’re not a garlic forward person and heavier if you love it. I prefer the Stonewall Kitchen brand (https://a.co/d/521VWfK), but find one you like.
There it is. Everyone’s favorite side, the mashed potatoes. Fit to sit with your turkey, ham, or beef. How you you like your mashed potatoes?
