Pioneer woman mashed potatoes

[nw6675]

You are welcome:

 

[lisaviolet]

I've never felt like her "recipes" were recipes. It usually is what most of us just throw together on whim.

This is the gist of my post. Not maslex starting this thread. I just think it is impossible to screw up mashed potatoes by taste, and 'throwing things together'. Maybe I am naive. And the seven? recipes (EDIT: It is seventeen ) for mashed potatoes by one woman sent me into a big Huh??? It's mashed potatoes.

Anyway, I made the potatoes last night. In honour of American Thanksgiving.
And to totally soothe myself from a weekend of puppy babysitting. The energy needed to escape wounds & subsequently finding a hole in my dress sent me there.

 

[LilyWDW]

This is the gist of my post. Not maslex starting this thread. I just think it is impossible to screw up mashed potatoes by taste, and 'throwing things together'. Maybe I am naive. And the seven? recipes for mashed potatoes by one woman sent me into a big Huh??? It's mashed potatoes.

Anyway, I made the potatoes last night. In honour of American Thanksgiving.
And to totally soothe myself from a weekend of puppy babysitting. The energy needed to escape wounds & a hole in my dress sent me there.

Every time I try to make mashed potatoes without a recipe I somehow mess them up. No idea how. I can just never get the consistency or flavor correct. They are my kryptonite!

 

[lisaviolet]

Every time I try to make mashed potatoes without a recipe I somehow mess them up. No idea how. I can just never get the consistency or flavor correct. They are my kryptonite!

Okay.

You know what it is, I am not a fantastic cook & I eat way too much of my own potatoes, while openly proclaiming victory, as I am preparing these special dinners. So I guess I incorrectly figured it was a given.

Leaving about the equivalency of two potatoes out of the mix really helps with consistency and taste for me. As does starting with smaller amounts of ingredients and adding by taste.
And enough salt in the water. I also sometimes leave a bit of the water from the boil in the mix.

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My sister-in-law IS what I would call a fantastic cook & apparently rice is her hill to climb. Exactly as you described.

 

[_19disnA]

The most likely things that can go wrong is overmixing/beating the potatoes so you end up with a gummy consistency. Use a potato masher/ricer instead of your electric mixer and do NOT overbeat them. Some types of potatoes are also better for mashing then others.

 

[wvjules]

I've never made her recipe but I do use one that has sour cream, cream cheese and heavy cream. I only make it for holidays. (I am now the mashed potato maker for all holidays.)

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm not a fan of potatoes with cream cheese added. The "special" mashed potato recipe I use is Wolfgang Puck's Roasted Garlic version, which is my family's favorite, and works well with gravy. I personally never make mashed potatoes ahead of time; that technique works better with other sides, IMO.

Shallots would certainly work in any garlic mash recipe if you want to reduce the strength of the garlic flavor; or you could use milder elephant garlic -- but I don't, because we like our garlic at full strength. I do add scallion tops for color and a bit of onion flavor.

For the record, just because so many people mix them up: Shallot (on the left) vs. Scallion (on the right)

 

[NYCgrrl]

The most likely things that can go wrong is overmixing/beating the potatoes so you end up with a gummy consistency. Use a potato masher/ricer instead of your electric mixer and do NOT overbeat them. Some types of potatoes are also better for mashing then others.

Yes to the ricer. It makes the potatoes so light and flakey. I opt for a food mill as it’s just as good as the ricer and can be used for a multitude of other tasks.

There are specific recipes that compensate for the speed of electric beaters (more fat, less starchy potatoes) but when in doubt just don’t use them.