mashed potatoes

[Pooh2]

How far ahead would you make mashed potatoes?

I am hosting Christmas dinner and trying to make a few things ahead to make Christmas morning more relaxing.

I was thinking of making them today, putting them in a casserole dish and reheating with the other dishes. Anyone else make them ahead with good results?

 

[SalemsFairyGodmother]

I have made them the day before serving them without problems. I put them in casserole dish and reheated in the microwave, stirring them after heating a few minutes so the top didn't dry out and repeating until warm all the way through.

 

[MAJPLO]

My MIL has made them ahead with terrible results. The most I've ever done ahead is to wash, peel, and cut the potatoes. Then store them in water in the fridge so they won't get brown. I suppose I would be brave enough to boil them ahead but not actually add anything or mash them until right before. I think where MIL went wrong was keeping them heated constantly in a crock pot. If you make them ahead and then reheat that may work better.

 

[HJAMom]

We buy these amazing frozen mashed potatoes. They are peeled and frozen in a bag, you throw them in the microwave, heat, and mash. I bet you could peel and parboil and throw in a freezer bag to make them kind of do it yourself

 

[ZoeBell]

I always make them right at the time of dinner. I know it's a pain but doing it earlier, especially just peeling and leaving sitting in water tends to make them pasty.

A friend of mine makes them the day before, and heats them up in the crockpot the next day.

 

[bdcp]

I've made them ahead and reheated them in the microwave. I add a little bit of milk and butter and stir it in before reheating them. They turn out great. There is lots of info on make ahead mashed potatoes online. I make as much ahead of time as possible. Takes a lot of the stress out of the meal.

 

[dsny1mom]

We buy these amazing frozen mashed potatoes. They are peeled and frozen in a bag, you throw them in the microwave, heat, and mash. I bet you could peel and parboil and throw in a freezer bag to make them kind of do it yourself

The Ore Ida peeled and cut frozen potatos are the best thing since sliced bread!!!! They make making mashed potatos so much easier and quicker and in our opinion taste exactly like mashed potatos made from raw potatos!

dsny1mom

 

[HeatherC]

I make them ahead and then reheat in the crockpot adding extra milk and butter as they heat to keep them creamy. Works great because you don't have to worry about keeping them hot at the same time as the other food.

 

[Zandy595]

If you don't care about the fat content, which IMO nobody should on Christmas... http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/creamy-mashed-potatoes-recipe/index.html

When Ree Drummond made it on her show, I believe it was prepared a day or 2 ahead and then reheated in the oven. I think it helps to have all that fat in it to keep the mashed potatoes from getting that weird texture they get when they're refrigerated.

 

[Pooh2]

Thanks for all the tips!
Sounds like a mixed bag for making ahead. I think I might try a combo of the above tips and boil and mash today, then try the crocpot and add the butter, pepper and milk a few hours before dinner.
Just have way to many other dishes to deal with to wait until just before dinner.

 

[MSSANDRA]

My mom made mashed potato almost every sunday when I was growing up.
She always prepared the peeled cut potato the day before and then boiled them until done and then when we returned from church she would bring them back to a boil for a few minutes and then mash as usual. If you cut your pieces small it really does not take too long to cook them. They are so much better fresh. I throw mine into my kitchen aid mixer with all the yummy extras and they are done in no time.

 

[dancin Disney style]

If you Google 'make ahead mashed potatoes' you will find recipes that include cream cheese and/or sour cream. These ingredients are what keep the potatoes from getting all hard and sticky when they are refridgerated. Most of these recipes require you to bake them in the oven(after you have mashed them)....that's why you can make them the day before and then bake right before you are serving them.

 

[TiggerTails57]

Pioneer woman's make ahead mash potatoes is the one I use.

 

[msmama]

Cream cheese keeps them creamy!!

 

[clh2]

We've been using this recipe for years. They are really great potatoes!

HOLIDAY MASHED POTATOES

5 pounds Yukon gold or russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
1/2 cup milk
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 ground black pepper (We add a very tiny bit of pepper, I do not care for pepper too much)
4 strips cooked bacon, chopped (optional)

Place potatoes in large saucepan; add enough water to cover. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Drain. Return to saucepan.

Add milk, cream cheese, and butter to potatoes. Mash with hand masher or electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Stir in garlic salt and pepper. Spoon into a 12 x 9 inch casserole dish. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Remove potatoes from refrigerator 3 1/4 hours before serving time. Coat slow cooker insert with vegetable oil spray. Place potatoes in slow cooker. Cover and heat on low setting 3 hours, stirring tiwce. Add chopped bacon before serving, if desired. Potatoes can be held ad additional 30 minutes if needed. Makes sixteen 1/2 cup servings.

NOTE: Mashed potatoes also may be reheated in oven. Bake uncovered in casserole dish for 45 minutes until hot. (SORRY - recipe did not specify the temp here.)

 

[shortbun]

I'm a mashed potato snob. It's my favorite food. I don't tolerate old, frozen, flaked, whipped. They have to be fresh and they have to be mashed. Peel, cut and put them in water overnight but that's as far as you can go without ruining them-if you really like good mashed potatoes, imho.

 

[CammelleandBre]

I'm a mashed potato snob. It's my favorite food. I don't tolerate old, frozen, flaked, whipped. They have to be fresh and they have to be mashed. Peel, cut and put them in water overnight but that's as far as you can go without ruining them-if you really like good mashed potatoes, imho.

I'm with you on it being your favorite. I have been known to cry if it wasn't on the table. For me they have to be made the day of, and the can NOT be made with milk in my house. They have to be made with heavy whipping cream, butter, sour cream, and sea salt. They are sooo good. Merry Christmas!

 

[4HppyCamprs]

We are hosting my inlaws tomorrow for xmas and we are going to try making "Crockpot mashed potatos". I came across the recipe on Allrecipes and it seems like a good one. It calls for cream cheese which already makes it a good one in my book

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm with you on it being your favorite. I have been known to cry if it wasn't on the table. For me they have to be made the day of, and the can NOT be made with milk in my house. They have to be made with heavy whipping cream, butter, sour cream, and sea salt. They are sooo good. Merry Christmas!

Wowza, can I come over? I am with you on the sour cream....the cream cheese thing was making my face look like this! Just NOT a fan of that stuff.


That said, I like potatoes. When I was single, apart from one experiment gone wrong with *blending* the potatoes (= potato glue!), I made them pretty plain, and even without the milk and butter and the rest, I'm still a big fan of them. Doing them very plain, you really have to do them right then and there. The family, however, likes them with at least some butter and some sort of milk.

 

[GraysMom]

The only way I've had success was to use heavy cream and butter instead of just whole milk and butter. I make the mashed potatoes as if we would eat them right away, then refrigerate until needed (a day or two at most). To reheat: put the potatoes in a covered casserole/Pyrex dish and add extra heavy cream (don't bother to stir until they've heated for a few minutes). Stir after a few minutes, checking to see if more heavy cream is needed or more reheating is needed. Oh, and we add crispy bacon pieces to these potatoes as well