How do you make your mashed potatos?

[rie'smom]

I use 5 lbs potatoes, pet milk enough for the right consistency, 1 stick of butter, some sour cream, salt and a little pepper.

 

[JessicaR]

This is what I make for holidays:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=257351

Harvest Mashed Potatoes.


Ingredients

* 4 large red potatoes (2 pounds)
* 2 medium-size sweet potatoes (1 1/2 pounds)
* 1/4 cup butter or margarine
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/4 cup sour cream
* 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* Butter or margarine (optional)

Preparation

Peel potatoes, and cut into 1-inch pieces. Cook in a Dutch oven in boiling salted water to cover 15 to 20 minutes or until tender; drain and place in a large bowl.

Add 1/4 cup butter and next 8 ingredients; mash with a potato masher until smooth. Top with additional butter, if desired.

Yum! These sound delicious, thanks!

 

[tar heel]

I think chicken broth would totally ruin a good batch of mashed potatoes. It's just not the right flavor. I've heard it recommended in low-cal cookbooks, but yuck.

I use potatoes, milk, butter and salt. The key is to make sure to cook the potatoes enough and to not be afraid to use enough butter (a whole stick in big batch) and milk. Also, leave a little bit of the potato water. They're way better runny than too stiff.

 

[Disney-Kim]

all these ideas are making me hungry...yummmm

I meant condensed milk in my OP ...not evaporated or?? the other way now I don't know...the NOT sweet one.

I went on Paula Deen's website yesterday and printed recipie ideas for Thanksgiving....

mashed sweet potatoes....oh my

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

I am NOT a very good cook, so I am wondering what the difference is in the actual potato itself. There are many different kinds when I go to the grocery store. Which one is best for making mashed potatoes?

btw-we use warm 2% milk and butter and whip with an electric mixer to get alll the lumps out. Nothing worse than lumps in the potatoes for me!

 

[chell]

We put in milk, a little bit of butter, and mayonnaise. I add sour cream sometimes as well.

I don't ever add the sour cream but this is how we do it. Salt & pepper are always added in this house.

 

[cristit14]

I warm my milk and add a dollop of sour cream too. I have sometimes added some Parmesan cheese and I always add a bunch of garlic powder, along with salt and pepper. Yummy!

 

[SpecialK]

My sister, the queen of lowfat cooking, made mashed potatoes using chicken broth and butter buds. This was 16 years ago and the last time she was allowed to cook Thanksgiving dinner.

 

[NotUrsula]

Potato types:

IMO, the best for mashed potatoes are Idaho Russet Burbank potatoes, the same variety that most folks use for baked potatoes.

Some restaurant chefs swear by Yukon Golds for mashing, but I think that they tend to come out a little bit waxy.

Red potatoes generally are NOT good for mashing, as they are quite waxy. Those are best used for boiling whole (smaller ones -- 'neep taties) , for soups, and for roasting in pieces.

As for my recipe, that depends on if we are talking everyday or special occasion. Everyday, I just use 1/8 cup margarine, a bit of warm 1% milk and some Tony Chachere's seasoning. For special occasions, I use the Wolfgang Puck recipe. Among other things, it calls for warm heavy cream and freshly roasted garlic.

 

[bookgirl]

Boil peeled potatos

Send them through a Ricer

Add Butter/margarine Salt and Pepper

Begin to whip potatos adding small amount of milk or cream till they reach soft peak stage.


I only make this at holidays, rest of the time it's usually instant LOL The Ricer is the key to holiday potatos. It makes them so incredibly silky. Using the full fat butter/milk is yummy. However we could not do this all the time.

 

[golfgal]

For Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter I make my DMiL's decadent version:

5 pounds of potatoes
1 stick of butter
1 package cream cheese
whipping cream until you get the right consistency

Make them just a bit runny and then bake them about half an hour so they get a lightly browned layer on top. They are like a coronary on a plate but man are they good

Ok, I'll match your coronary and add a stroke on top--I do the above but add sour cream too (and finely chopped green onions). Oh, I use milk not whipping cream though . I make these for holidays or special meals. For regular mashed potatoes we will have with good gravy I just mash them with milk and salt.

 

[disneymarie]

Instead of milk and butter, use buttermilk.

A few weeks ago I also mashed up cauliflower and added to it. Couldn't even tell it was in there.

I use can cream, lots of fluff, serve asap. oh and stick of butter, real mashed potatoes are a diet treat for holidays.

If one rinses, with cold water several times, does it remove enough starch for special diet needs?

I always thought it was the starch and did huge soak for my Mom, then used nonfat can cream and butter substitute.

 

[Gagirl69]

We put in milk, a little bit of butter, and mayonnaise. I add sour cream sometimes as well.

This is how I fix mine also.

 

[mill4023]

I am NOT a very good cook, so I am wondering what the difference is in the actual potato itself. There are many different kinds when I go to the grocery store. Which one is best for making mashed potatoes?

btw-we use warm 2% milk and butter and whip with an electric mixer to get alll the lumps out. Nothing worse than lumps in the potatoes for me!

I'm the opposite. I prefer mine lumpy.

I also disagree with the poster who said red potatoes aren't good for mashing.

By far, this is my favorite way of making mashed potatoes.

Boil baby red potatoes, cut in half, with the skin left on.
When done, drain, then add generous amounts of butter and cream (or whole milk), garlic(fresh, from a jar, or powder), salt, pepper, and basil(fresh is better, but dried is ok too.
Mash them to whatever consistency you want.
I think using red potatoes, leaving the skin on, and leaving some chunks of potato, gives the dish more flavor and character than having super smooth, plain white potatoes.

 

[phragmipedium]

Boil quartered russet potatoes, smush them through a ricer, add warm milk and butter, salt and pepper. If I'm making them for a holiday I sometimes use cream instead of milk, and add cream cheese, and then I put the mashed potatoes in a baking dish, add butter pats to the top and bake until there's a nice crust on top also - that's helpful too for the holiday not to be making them at the last minute; you can prepare them in advance and then put the cold dish in the oven so it's one less thing you have to cook close to dinnertime.

I also like smashed potatoes, with skins and lumpy, but I prefer those to be red potatoes and definitely with cream cheese and also usually a little hint of garlic. I don't care as much for smashed russets but I think those are best for traditional mashed potatoes - something about the starch level or some other scientific reason behind it.