recipe: mashed potatoes

i usually pick up a huge bag of russet potatoes. i do not know how much i need but it is a good 10 pound bag.
my serving is a potato for two people. if you have 12 people for thanksgiving use 6 potatoes if there are going to be a lot of other dishes to taste. if just turkey and mashed then a potato per person.

simple mashed potatoes

potatoes - pick any kind you want ... i use russet because it is easy to peel and boil
butter - you can add how ever much you want. i used up the whole stick to a whole box
cream cheese - i love to add cream cheese to give it the tang
sour cream - sometimes i add it to soften the mashed up
milk - if it is really too dry or add it when you need to reheat the mashed again
salt - for taste if needed

peeling is a bitch. i do not like peeling potatoes so that is why jp ; ) comes in handy. if you have a significant other who like mashed ask him or her to peel the potatoes.

boil the potatoes in several pots if you have 10 pounds of potatoes. if not one pot is enough. boil on medium stove top fire. it will take around 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours depending on how much you have cooking. test the softness with a fork by poking one of the potatoes. russet potatoes tends to crumble so you don't really need to do the test.

drain potatoes after they are cooked to perfection for mashing.

i use two bowls to do the job of mashing. one small bowl to mash and to mix in butter, cream cheese etc. and the other bigger bowl to store the mashed. it is easier to mash and to mix in a little at a time. your hands will get tired so have additional people to help you mash. once all that is done. it is time to taste. if you need some salt add some, mix and taste.

other ingredients you may want to add ... smoked bacon bits, wasabi, sweet potatoes etc
it is better to keep it simple by only adding one additional ingredient

thankful for food

we had a wonderful thanksgiving dinner. it was great to see all the aunties, uncles and cousins. i actually ate alot and for the turkey disliker like me ... the turkey was juicy and tender to perfection and i had two slices. theodore had stuffings and array of desserts from cheese cake from mousse fantasy to pumpkin pie with whipped cream. he preferred sweets more than anything.

this year i mashed potatoes again. it has become my trademark for thanksgiving. i had to think of different kind of stuff i can add to the mash. i put some hickory smoked bacon this time and it tasted smoking. jp and i also did some experimentation with potatoes. we made potato gratin. it needed some tweaking before we can actually present it one day for thanksgiving. so look out for it one thanksgiving!