Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes

Since my last post was about Whipped Rutabaga and Potato, and this post is about Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes (in which I whip the potatoes instead of mashing them), you are going to start thinking I have a thing for my electric hand mixer.

But I really don't have a thing for my electric hand mixer. I actually generally prefer to mash potatoes by hand.That being said, the overwhelming evidence here indicates that I like to whip out my electric hand mixer.
I guess the more accurate truth is that I have a thing for potatoes in general. Whipped, mashed, scalloped, baked, fried in a skillet, made into chips, simmered into soup, served with pot roast, or transformed into gnocchi, I like potatoes.And lately, since I've been getting some hits on an old post, Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes, I thought I'd write about them again (and hopefully take better pictures this time around).Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes are a great Thanksgiving dish. Not only are Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes extra special, extra tasty potatoes, but they are easy to incorporate into a busy Thanksgiving menu. You can prepare them a day or two ahead of time. Put them in the refrigerator unbaked until the day you want to serve them. Then, on that day, you can bake them early in the day, and then set them aside for a while until it's time for the meal. Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes stay hot for a long time after being baked.

Long live Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes!THANKSGIVING MASHED POTATOES

3-4 pounds of potatoes
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup milk or cream or evaporated milk
salt, black pepper, and white pepper, to taste
1 egg

Peel potatoes, chop into large chunks, and cook until tender in salted water.

While potatoes are cooking saute onion in butter for a few minutes, just to soften and sweeten the onion. Add minced garlic to saute and cook for just a minute after onion is softened. Remove from heat. (The little bits of onion and garlic will disappear after the potatoes are baked in the oven.)

Drain cooked potatoes. Add onions and garlic. Add cream cheese and milk. Then whip everything together really well with an electric hand mixer. Add salt, pepper, and any additional seasonings to taste.

Let the potatoes cool to just warm and then add the egg and whip again. Pour into a buttered casserole dish. Use a casserole dish slightly larger than your amount of potatoes because these puff up in volume a little bit while baking. Potatoes can now be baked, or you can put them in the refrigerator for a day or two until it's time to bake them.

To bake: Cover casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for at least an hour (longer if chilled). You will know they are done cooking when the top has puffed up evenly. Remove lid for the last 10-15 minutes to make a nice golden crust.

These will stay warm for a long time after baking if re-covered and set aside in a warm kitchen.

Whipped Rutabaga and Potato

Rutabagas and turnips are related to each other and can pretty much be used interchangeably, so this recipe could just as easily be called "Whipped Turnip and Potato."Rutabagas and turnips are quite easy to grow. Both will keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator (and even longer in a root cellar). Both are good sources of fiber. And they both taste like autumn to me.

But I like rutabagas better.I think I just like the word. "Rutabaga." It's such a fun word to say out loud.

Rutabagas (and turnips) take a little longer to cook than potatoes. So to make Whipped Rutabaga and Potato I boil the chopped rutabaga for a little while first, and then add the chopped potatoes.I like the earthy autumn flavor that rutabaga contributes, and I like how whipping rutabaga with potato seems to cut the starchiness of the potato.

Adjust these ingredients to suit your own taste, but here is how I like to make this...WHIPPED RUTABAGA AND POTATO

2 cups of peeled, roughly chopped rutabaga
6 cups of peeled, roughly chopped potatoes
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup milk, cream, or evaporated milk
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
salt, pepper, and white pepper, to taste

Put chopped rutabaga in a large pot, cover generously with salted water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add chopped potatoes (and more salted water if necessary) and simmer another 15-20 minutes, until rutabaga and potato pieces are fork tender. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small skillet, add minced garlic, and cook for just a few minutes until garlic begins to soften, then remove from heat. Drain water from rutabaga and potato pieces. Add milk and melted butter with garlic to rutabaga and potatoes. Whip well with an electric hand mixer until mixture is very smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and white pepper, to taste.

What to Do with Overgrown Green Beans

One of my favorite things about summer is getting to eat this meal.

It's so simple yet so delicious.

You know those green beans that you should have picked a few days ago? Those beans that you now think are probably too big and too tough? Use those beans to make this!

Generally I like fresh green beans to be slightly crunchy. I like to steam them just a little bit, so that they are still bright green and have some bite to them. But this meal is different. In this dish the beans cook for quite a while with small potatoes and a meaty smoked ham hock. Those large, tough beans soften and absorb some of that smoky ham flavor without becoming soggy. They retain their shape and their bite.

On a hot day I like to cook this outside on campfire or grill coals, but I have also cooked it on my kitchen stove.I've never measured any of the ingredients for this because nothing needs to be measured. Just throw the ingredients into a dutch oven and let it simmer for a while.

This is always a crowd pleaser!DUTCH OVEN GREEN BEANS, HAM, AND POTATOES

A meaty smoked ham hock
Small potatoes (or larger potatoes, quartered)
Large green beans
A little bit of chopped onion and/or minced garlic
A generous chunk of butter
A tiny pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper
Water or chicken broth

Place ham hock in bottom of dutch oven. Add remaining ingredients. If cooking on kitchen stove add enough water or chicken broth to half cover ingredients. (If cooking on campfire or grill coals use enough water or broth to almost completely cover ingredients.) Cook until potatoes and green beans are tender and meat is falling off hock (probably about an hour and a half). If using small tender green beans instead of larger tough ones, don't add them until after the potatoes and hock have already partially cooked.

Potato Chips

Sure... you can open a store bought bag of crunchy, crispy, salty potato chips and stuff them mindlessly into your mouth... I would be totally lying if I claimed to have never done that myself. It's fun, isn't it?

But for a special occasion, or if you want to do something nice for someone... homemade potato chips will really impress!It's really not as much work or as time consuming or as messy as you might think.

Make a platter of potato chips for an impromptu late night snack and you'll probably make someone very happy!

First let's talk potatoes... I grow two varieties of potatoes: Pontiac Reds and Kennebecs. I can tell you that Pontiac Reds don't make very good potato chips. They just don't seem to fry up well. Kennebecs, however, make great potato chips! Kennebecs fry up light and crispy, and they resist burning. I'm sure that some other varieties of potatoes also make good chips... I just don't know of them since I only grow these two kinds myself. (I would love to hear what other potatoes make good chips... please share if you have made good chips with other potatoes! I want to know!)Next, let's talk about slicing those potatoes. They need to be very thin. I can't cut them thin enough by hand. The slicing attachment on my food processor doesn't slice them thin enough, either. What works well for me is to use a cheese slicer. This slices them just right!

Then there's the oil... peanut oil is a good fry oil, but I've also used vegetable oil with great success.

And then there's the frying pot... you don't need to use a deep fryer to make these. I'm not inclined to lug out the deep fryer just to make a small batch of chips for snacking... so I use my trusty old cast iron pot. But you can use any deep pot. I like to use something heavy if I'm heating oil because it reduces the chance that I'll accidentally knock it off the stove. (Help. Let's not even think about that.)

So, heat your oil to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit and drop a handful of potato slices into the pot. I leave the thermometer in the pot and I watch it. The temperature cools a bit when I add the potato slices. I try not to let the temperature go below 300 degrees. I let the handful of potato slices fry for 2-3 minutes. Then I scoop them out and place them on a plate (line the plate with a paper towel if you wish but these really aren't very greasy).Sprinkle just a wee bit of salt on the chips right away, then let them cool. (It's fun to use something special, like fine ground sea salt on these!) Add more salt later, if needed.

These are so good! And they are so easy! Serve with or without your favorite dip (I like Fresh Buttermilk Dressing) and wash them down with a tasty beer. These will make you (and maybe someone else) very happy!Can I make true confession? Potato chips are so quick and easy to make (and easy to clean up, too) that I have been known to fry up a little batch of these when I'm all by myself!

Super Simple & Suprisingly Scrumptious Spud Salad

In my last post I welcomed spring.

But apparently Mother Nature doesn't read my blog, because she's kept everything under a deep freeze here for a long time now. Other than one little teasingly nice day, the temperatures here have remained 20 degrees below normal. The ground is still too frozen to plant potatoes, which means that I might not have potatoes in June.

Not being able to plant potatoes, of course, has me thinking about potatoes. So I'm posting this lovely potato salad recipe... I hope you like it...
Making a potato salad always seems like a lot of work, doesn't it? You have to peel potatoes. And cook potatoes. And chop potatoes. And boil eggs. And peel eggs. And chop eggs. And chop up more vegetables. And mix up a batch of dressing. By the time you're done preparing it every bowl, whisk, mixing spoon, and cutting tool that you own is soiled and the kitchen looks like a tornado came through. Sometimes I even have to change my clothes. I'll be honest. This potato salad is no different. There's a lot of prep to this one, too. But it has a fairly short ingredient list. And the dressing is a cinch. It's exactly what you are looking for if you're looking for something new to try. It's a simple twist of an old favorite. This potato salad will be a hit every time... I promise.

SUPER SIMPLE & SUPRISINGLY SCRUMPTIOUS SPUD SALAD
2 pounds potatoes, boiled until fork tender, cooled, then roughly chopped*
6 hard boiled eggs, finely choppped
1 pound bacon, chopped, cooked in skillet, and drained
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (I like a red onion best in this)
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup mayonnaise (store bought, or make your own)
1 cup sour cream
salt and pepper, to taste

Toss potatoes, eggs, bacon, onion, and celery together in a large bowl. Stir Mayonnaise and sour cream together in a smaller bowl. (I add some salt and pepper to this mixture). Stir half of the dressing into the ingredients in the large bowl. Cover remaining dressing and reserve. Just before serving stir in remaining dressing. Taste and adjust seasonings.

*I grow 2 all purpose potato varieties, white kennebec and red pontiac, so those are the varieties that I use for all potato recipes. (Both of these varieties also happen to store very well.)

Making Gnocchi

Have you ever made gnocchi?

All you need are some leftover mashed potatoes, an egg, some flour, and a few minutes.

Using a food processor helps, but it's not necessary. The ingredients can also be mixed by hand.

Look how easy this is...Put mashed potatoes, an egg, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in a food processor.Process until smooth.

Add some very finely chopped onion or garlic, or some fresh chopped (or dried) herbs and process again.Add flour, a little at a time, processing after each addition, until mixture forms a ball in the food processor.Remove dough to a floured surface.Knead a bit more flour into dough until dough is less sticky and easy to handle. Pinch off little pieces of dough, roll into small balls, and push your thumb down into the middle of each ball to make an indentation. (The indentation makes a nice little cup to catch a bit of butter or sauce later.)

You might prefer to roll dough into long snakes, cut into pieces, and then press each piece with a fork to make little indentations... but I find my way easier.
Once gnocchi (gnocchis?) are made, they can be cooked or frozen to use later. To freeze, place gnocchi on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or freezer paper and freeze individually first. Then put frozen pieces in a freezer bag.

When ready to make, cook in boiling water for just a few minutes. Gnocchi is ready when all pieces are floating in the boiling water.

Serve with your favorite pasta sauce, pesto, or just toss with butter and parmesan cheese.

I cooked up this little dish of gnocchi with butter and cheese as a snack, just to show you how good it is. See how nice I am? I'm very giving like that...GNOCCHI

1 cup mashed potatoes
1 egg
salt and pepper
optional: very finely minced onion or garlic, fresh chopped or dried herbs
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour (possibly a bit more or a bit less)
another 1/4 to 1/2 cup flour for kneading

Put mashed potatoes, egg, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in food processor and process until smooth. (Although the mashed potatoes were probably already nicely seasoned, you will be adding flour, which will dilute the seasoning of the potatoes.) Add minced onion, garlic, or herbs, if using, and process again. Add flour, about a half cup at a time, processing in between each addition. A bit more, or a bit less flour might be used, depending on how wet the mashed potatoes were. Gnocchi dough is ready to be kneaded when it forms a ball in the food processor. (Dough will still be slightly sticky.) Knead dough on floured surface until less sticky and easy to handle. Pinch small pieces off dough, roll into balls about 1/2 inch in diameter, and use thumb to make indentation in middle of each ball. Place indented dough balls on cookie sheet to freeze (put into freezer bag once frozen) or cook in boiling water for just a few minutes. Gnocchi is cooked when all dough balls are floating in the boiling water. Toss cooked gnocchi with butter and shredded parmesan cheese or serve with pesto or pasta sauce.

Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes

Update November 2011: I like this recipe so much I posted about it again, click here to see the newer post!It's an understatement to say that hosting Thanksgiving is a lot of work.

The host has to create a menu, accommodating every one's inevitable favorite requests. Which baking dishes are used for each course has to be decided ahead of time. Where to put things, how to keep the kitchen clean, and how to stay sane all have to be figured out. And in the end every part of the meal needs to be hot and ready at the same time...

Accomplishing a successful home cooked Thanksgiving meal is like performing a highly choreographed ballet of food and family. And fellowship. And fun.

It's nice when there's a dish that can be made ahead of time.

Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes is that dish.
This is an old family recipe. I like to make this at Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is light, rich, creamy, and good. The top and sides develops a delicate buttery crust. This is different from everyday mashed potatoes. This is special.


But the best thing about this is that it can be prepared two to three days ahead of time and baked early on The Big Day, leaving the oven free for Everything Else.

Seriously. This stays hot for hours.

If you're planning Thanksgiving right now, you've probably got no time to waste, so let's get right to the recipe!

THANKSGIVING MASHED POTATOES

3-4 pounds of potatoes
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup milk
salt, black pepper, and white pepper, to taste
1 egg

Peel potatoes, chop into large chunks, and cook until tender in salted water. I use about a quarter cup of salt in two quarts of water and I don't usually have to add more salt later.

While potatoes are cooking saute onion in butter for a few minutes, just to soften and sweeten the onion. Add minced garlic to saute and cook for just a minute after onion is softened. Remove from heat.

Drain cooked potatoes. Add onions and garlic. Add cream cheese and milk. Then whip everything together really well with an electric hand mixer. I don't usually use the hand mixer for everyday mashed potatoes, but I do use it for Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes... I think it breaks down the starch of the potatoes. Or something. I don't know the science of it. All I know is I use the the electric mixer for Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes and I use my ricer or potato masher most of the rest of the time. And Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes have a different texture from everyday mashed potatoes.

At this point you'll want to season and taste your potatoes. I like to add a generous amount of fresh ground black pepper and a pinch of white pepper. The sauteed onion and garlic will disappear upon baking. You won't be biting into bits of onion or garlic, but they add a rich sweet taste to the finished, cooked dish.

Let the potatoes cool to just warm and then add the egg and whip again. Pour into a buttered casserole dish. (Use a casserole dish slightly larger than your amount of potatoes because these puff up in volume a little bit while baking.) Potatoes can now be baked, or you can put them in the refrigerator for a couple of days until The Big Day.

To cook: Bake, covered, in moderate oven (I usually bake these at 350 degrees) for one hour. Remove lid for last 10-15 minutes to develop a nice golden crust. After one hour, remove from oven, replace lid, and set aside until ready to serve. These will stay warm for a Really Long Time.

How to Have Potatoes in June

Yes! Fresh new potatoes in June! Here's how to do it:

1.) First of all, remember that potatoes are Irish. Or that the Irish love potatoes. Or that potatoes grow in Ireland. Or remember the Irish potato famine. Or think of anything Irish. Because then you will remember to plant potatoes on Saint Patrick's Day. What?! Your ground is still frozen then? Same here. But potatoes get planted as close to Saint Patrick's Day as possible.

Of course I've never found a nursery that has seed potatoes for sale in March, so you want to save some of your potatoes from last season to use for seed.

They aren't pretty. But they are good for seed. (And truth be told, most of them are still good eating, too.)

These potatoes started growing little potatoes in storage. (You can read about harvesting and storing potatoes here.)

2.) Put on your winter coat. Your garden is cold in March.

3.) As soon as you can get your rototiller and your hoe into that cold dirt, work the soil into a nice powder and dig a deep trench.

4.) Cut your seed potatoes into chunks that have an eye or a tendril growing from them.

As the plant begins to grow it will get energy from that potato chunk, so be sure to leave enough potato to feed the plant.

Place your chunks of potato about a foot apart in the trench, tendril or eye facing up.

5.) When all of your potatoes are placed in the trench, cover the whole length of trench with a hill of soil. Really pile it up so those potato pieces are laying deep down in the soil.

6.) Now wait. And watch. Eventually little green shoots will start to poke out of that hill. If you planted your potatoes in the middle of March you are probably still having occasional frosts when the plants start to show. That's okay! Cover those babies generously with loose straw. Make sure they are well protected under straw any any time you suspect a frost.

7.) You might need to say a little prayer to Mother Nature because you put a lot of work into planting those potatoes and she can take out your whole crop with one cold night.

No matter how well you cover your potatoes, they might get a little nip causing some leaves to turn black. Don't lose hope if this happens. The potato plants might survive this.

8.) Beware: Some people who don't know any better might laugh and make fun when they see you planting potatoes in your garden in March. Let them laugh. Snuggle down into the warmth of your coat and think about June... you will be the one laughing when you are eating fabulous fresh new potatoes!

I 'Dig' Potatoes!

I mean that in every sense of the word. I dig them.

And I dig eating them, too.

And if I might brag just a little bit... we grow good potatoes here at Homegrown Farm.

Seriously good.

But then I'm biased. Because I like potatoes. I like them in all of their different disguises and preparations.

Remember Forest Gump's friend Bubba? He liked shrimp in all of it's disguises and preparations.

"You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it... Dey's uh, shrimp kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad..."

Potatoes are like that too.

They can be baked, boiled, broiled, sauted, or fried. Dey', uh, potato soup, potato salad, potato gratin, baked potato, fried potatoes, potato fries, mashed potatoes...

You get it.Potatoes are one of the easiest foods to store. Just keep them in a cool dry place and they keep for months and months... until it is time to put them back in the ground as seed for next year's potatoes.

I have heard all kinds of weird and complicated instructions for planting and storing potatoes, like that you can't plant your own homegrown potatoes, that they have to be cured before they are stored, that they require a certain exact humidity, that if one potato goes bad it ruins the whole bunch, and that the ones with green on them are poisonous.

We have never had any of this happen and we always eat our own potatoes from storage all year long. And we haven't bought a seed potato in years.

Sure, when winter is growing long and we are eagerly awaiting spring's arrival, the potatoes grow tentacles and start looking a bit wrinkly... but don't we all start doing that at the end of winter?