Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Not-such-a-smash potatoes



Smashed Potatoes
Big Kitchen Instruction Book Copyright 1998

2-3 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped green onions

Scrub potatoes well and cut in half. Place in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until they are tender and can easily be pierced with a fork. Drain water from potatoes and return them to the saucepan. Add milk and mash just slightly. Turn heat to low and add butter, salt and pepper. Mash just a little more, but leave them slightly lumpy. Stir in sour cream, and add a little more salt and pepper if desired. Stir in parsley and green onions and serve.

Makes 4-6 servings.

I made the Slow-Cooker Pot Roast with Caramelized Onion Gravy again, and even though I did everything the same, it wasn't as 'perfect' this time. It was very good, but the meat was a bit stringy, as most pot roasts I've made or eaten in my life have been. It was still enjoyable but not at that perfect point being tender but not stringy. Maybe I had a different roast this time - 'rump', 'round', 'top', 'bottom' - it's all very confusing.

Since the main course was a rerun, I thought I'd make these smashed potatoes to go along with it and they were okay. I could have done without the parsley and the lite sour cream probably took away from some of the richness that I'm used to in mashed potatoes. I usually add some cream cheese. But my husband ate a ton of these and he's usually not really into potatoes so I can't say this recipe is a dud. Minus the parsley, I think I would have really liked these. I thought they had great eye appeal too.

This is a great 'go-to' cookbook when you're looking for a basic recipe. It has recipes for most common veggies, and popular recipes for most main ingredients. Nothing novel about the recipes but a nice choice for someone just learning to cook (someone without fancy tastes).

Question of the Day: What do you usually add to your mashed potatoes?

7 comments:

The Cookbook Junkie said...

Like I said, I usually add cream cheese (that really perks up instant potatoes - yes, we eat instant potatoes!) Sometimes I just add butter and milk.

I have a friend who adds mayo to mashed potatoes. I bet that's good too - I love mayo.

Heather said...

I really don't like mashed potatoes all that much, I'd rather have baked. However, maybe it is because I only put butter on them that makes them pretty unappealing to me.

Michele said...

I usually add butter and sometimes sour cream. I would add more items but hubby and kiddos are picky so we stick to the basics. Yours look really good!

Anonymous said...

I usually add buttermilk, a little bit of light sour cream, butter, salt and white pepper. I love the bite from the white pepper.

Anonymous said...

I like to add shredded cheese to mine as well as milk or 1/2 and 1/2 plus some salt and pepper. I also like to add sour cream. Yours look really good.

Anonymous said...

Hoo, boy - mashed potatoes! I'll bet my household holds the record for serving them most often - my husband could eat them every night! So, it's just with milk, butter, s & p.

However, I saw this on TV and have made it several times. And OHMYGOSH is it good! Fry some bacon, then saute chopped onion and bell pepper in the drippings. To the mashed potatoes, stir in the crumbled bacon, onion, bell pepper and grated cheddar cheese.
Eat it one night and diet for a week!

Jan

Cyndi said...

If I'm using russets for mashed, I just add butter and a bit of milk, since I usually add gravy. If I'm using red potatoes, with skins, I add sour cream and butter, and sometimes even cream cheese, plus sliced green onions. Now you're giving me cravings for mashed potatoes!