Now in my house potatoes are a constant. Same with bacon, protein powder, and Mr. Fantabulous. These are things I cannot live without. It’s kinda like air… it’s a necessity.
Since I’m home recovering from surgery Mr. Fantabulous took on all the work here including the cooking and baking. He could easily live on tuna, eggs, protein powder, and the 30+ quarts of Italian Gravy I made him. However, he would have one very, VERY cranky wife as I can’t just live on that. Being a chef, I need a variety, I need to be in the kitchen. Now while I’m following my surgeon’s orders to the letter (no life, no cooking, no lifting, no life, no gym, no driving, no working out, NO LIFE) it has not been easy for me.
Since the surgery, I haven’t had an appetite. That’s pretty normal they say however for me that’s a great thing since my life sucks right now since I’m not allowed to work out. I’m still trying to calculate how many calories air has AND how many calories I can burn just by breathing.
Since I’m on these horse tranquilizers they sent me home with for pain, I can’t take them on an empty stomach so I needed something of substance to help absorb the yuckiness of them. Immediately I went to mashed potatoes.
So I was given the potatoes, peeled ’em, and let Mr. Fantabulous do the rest. About 30 minutes later I had him drain them and showed him how to use a masher by hand. I tasted for seasoning (about 42 times…lol) and there before me was a bowl of perfectly mashed potatoes. Just a few sparse chunks, lots of creamy butter, salt and pepper. These were perfect.
Of course, Mr. Fantabulous was standing there beaming with pride and these were the most absolute best potatoes ever made by mankind (cause he helped). LOL
Now I know you guys are used to more elaborate type stuff but every once in a while it’s nice to step back and just tackle the basics. See our TKW Family is growing day by day and I’ve had a bunch of kitchen ‘newbies’ contact me asking how to just make the basics. I encourage stuff like this as it keeps me grounded and reminds me that not everyone has many years of experience in the kitchen. Plus I love the simple stuff.
You see with just one simple dish like mashed potatoes you can make so many other recipes out of it! Croquettes, Sheppard’s Pie, Pseudo Latke, Pierogie Lasagna and so forth. And it’s AMAZING with meatloaf!
Now please if you say you’re mashed potatoes come from a box then we really need to discuss our relationship. I just can’t… I can’t. I just couldn’t look at you the same… I would know your dirty little secret and I’d be embarrassed. Now go out buy some taters and get to mashin’!
PrintThe Very Best Mashed Potatoes
The Very Best Mashed Potatoes from a chef’s kitchen.
- Yield: 4-5
Ingredients
- 5 large Yukon gold potatoes, *optional peeled
- 6–7 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup cream (plus additional if needed)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 4 ounces cream cheese
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a deep pot and cover with cold water. You want the potatoes to be covered with 1-2” of water. Place the pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil and add 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Cook for 30 to 35 minutes. When they’re cooked through, the fork should easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance. Drain the potatoes in a large colander. Place in a large bowl and add the cream cheese.
- Add the butter, milk, and cream to the now-empty potato pot and heat up til the butter is melted and the mixture is warmed. Pour the mixture over the potatoes and cream cheese. Mash the potatoes until they are creamy. If they appear a bit thick add in a few tablespoons of cream until desired consistency.
- Add in the salt and pepper and mix.; tasting for seasoning. Garnish with a pat of butter on top.
Leave a Reply