Smashed Potatoes

This mashed potato recipe stemmed from me realizing at the green age of 16 that if I was cooking the potatoes, they should taste exactly how I dream they should.  And yes, I dream about potatoes, but only around the holidays. Unfortunately for my guinea pig siblings and hubs, the recipe wasn't just there, it took me a while to get it right.

So here they are, my dreamy and buttery potatoes, just in time for Thanksgiving. Now just to warn you, these potatoes aren't healthy, so if you're on paleo (I'm sorry!), maybe come back to the blog in January and we can chat about fauxtatoes (made from cauliflower, actually really good!) but here at D & H for the holidays, we don't like to worry about all that.  

Here is what you need to make about 6 cups of mashed potatoes:
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon 
1 tablespoon chopped garlic 
6 peeled potatoes (I just got the cheap-o ones from Costco)
1 stick of butter
8oz cream cheese 
salt to taste

Fill a 6 quart pot about 1/3 full of water, add the garlic and bouillon and crank up the stove heat to high.

Chop the potatoes. 

Dump the potatoes into the pot of seasoned water. 

Oh, you know what, I threw some thyme into the pot to make sure that the growings of our garden were put to good use.  (Side story: D and I installed a drip system into one of the raised garden beds in our backyard.  Fabulous idea, worked out beautifully except I planted vegetables that neither of us really like to eat and I don't always cook with (doi right?), not the desired outcome of a DIY project, let me tell ya!  So anytime I can use things from the garden, it is a happy day here!)

Bring the water to a boil and let the potatoes cook in the boiling water until you poke them and they fall apart (like me every thirty days or so), the potatoes should cook in about 20 minutes.

Drain the water.  Chop the cream cheese and butter into chunks and add it to the potatoes. Did I mention that this isn't a healthy recipe?   

I then used a whisk to mix in/melt the cheese and butter and to smash the potatoes, you can also you an electric mixer for this, I needed to work on my triceps anyway, so I went the elbow grease route.  I also added about a teaspoon of salt to the potatoes as I was mixing them. 

Voila. I turned into Forrest Gump for a minute before this post, "I ate some". 

A few notes: 

1) I am a potato purist.  I don't want crunchy, herb-y or any unidentifiable objects in my potatoes, I want them smooth, flavorful and fluffy.  Often flavorful and smooth don't mix but if you use the boiling water as the method for seasoning the potatoes, I think you get the best of both worlds.  So you like rosemary but don't want to feel like you are eating pine needles? Throw the rosemary in the water as the potatoes cook, pull it out when you are done cooking them, BAM ZOOM, good to go!  My non-negotiable item in this recipe is using chicken bouillon, it gives the potatoes flavor that is noticeable but not overpowering.  

2)The gorgeous cutting board shown above was actually scrap granite from a job D was working on, he sanded the rough edges and we stuck some felt pads to the bottom of it.  I leave it on the counter all the time, so useful having a cutting board at the ready and it protects the maple countertop!  I'm so glad he keeps his eyes out for cool "scraps" like that!

Well I hope you all have a fabulous week and are having as much fun planning Thanksgiving and enjoying this wonderful snuggle weather as much as we are!   

All the best, 

D & H