Why I Don’t Make Mashed Potatoes

LB

you’re making me so hungry! love your posts!

lindsay

do you have a kitchen aid mixer? or any other hand mixer will work to mash your potatoes? i just throw all of the cooked potatoes in my mixer and let the mixer do all of the work.

Jasmine @ Eat Move Write

Sushi and mashed potatoes? lol. You gotta love that. You’re little frilly apron is adorable. I want one. Well, I have one except for some reason it has a deep boobie-accentuating V-neckline in my apron, so obviously it doesn’t actually work very well to prevent splatters. Unless I’m wearing a plunging neckline while cooking, that is.

Melissa

You look absolutely adorable in that frilly apron! I want one! I completely know the feeling of craving Fall and all it’s glory in the midst of the end of summer weirdness. I WILL be following your mashed potato (roasted garlic, YES PLEASE!) recipe for Thanksgiving. 🙂

megan @ whatmegansmaking

I use my kitchenaid to mash poatoes and it works really well. But I’ve never put roasted garlic in them…now that I need to try!

Sharlene (Wheels and Lollipops)

Definitely made me laugh ! I hated making them until I got a ricer and then well its perfection each time

Kim

I find using a hand mixer works amazingly well!

Jill

On Pioneer Woman I read you should mash the potatoes over low heat and this will get rid of all the excess water that makes them runny! Try it! I’ve only made mashed potatoes once following this method and they were delish!

grocery goddess jen

You are so funny! And adorable in your Donna Reed cooking outfit 🙂

Lizzie

Jenna, you crack me up! 🙂

Have you tried chilli chocolate? I think Lindt makes one. I’m definitely going to try out that roast garlic method (though I sneakily shortcut through that and by the pre-peeled cloves – would they still work?). Also I sneakily (BTW, this is NOT a reflection of who I am as a person! :)) don’t peel potatoes and leave the skin on – especially if they’re the Russett ones. Celebrate your hard fought victory over the mash! 🙂

rachael

I have the same apron, though I don’t wear it nearly as much as I should. I haven’t made mashed potatoes in years. When I was pregnant mashed potatoes were the only thing that appealed to me for months (after feeling nauseous for a week I ended up at the grocery store buying a 5lb bag of potatoes and a pregnancy test), I haven’t craved them since then though and my baby is 3. I agree, frosting is prettier.

Michelle @ Turning Over a New Leaf

I have a scar from when I accidentally thought it’d be a good idea to peel my thumb along with my potatoes. Hasn’t stopped me from making them.

Mashed potatoes was one of the first dishes I was taught to cook. When I first made them I whipped them with my hand mixer. Then I went to college and my friends wondered why I was so afraid of potato skins and lumps. They like skins and lumps. I’ve learned to like both.

Can’t say I’ve ever had a problem with runniness though. I guess I’ve always eyeballed my milk/cream/half-and-half/butter well.

Theresa @ActiveEggplant

My trick for mashed potatoes: sour cream, butter and whole milk. Plus a hand mixer. No lumps & nice creamy texture! Mashed potatoes without sour cream just aren’t the same.

Lisa

I LOVE mashed potatoes. Best thing about Thanksgiving!

R @ Learning As I Chop

You could always leave the skins on! Creates a nice texture

Kendra

You should use your mixer for the mashed potatos. It makes them super fluffy, totally removes the clumps, and saves so much of the manual labor.

Therese

I hate lumpy mashed potatoes! I always take a hand mixer to it for the last minute or two after I’ve mashed them up.

I <3 your apron…

Amber K

Agh! Why do people keep talking on their cell phones while driving? (tee hee, I was just doing that this morning, but at least I was hands free, that counts right?)

Mashed potatoes sound awesome right now.

AllieNic @Frisky Lemon

Dude. I’m wearing the same shirt as you. Well, I’m wearing the same shirt today as you did when you were making your mashed ‘tatos…Great minds think/dress alike?

polly

LOVE mashed potatoes and of course love you, sweetie!

I am making a brand new recipe for pumpkin meatloaf right now. Want to come over for supper?

XOXO

Shelley

We always use our hand mixer to mash the potatoes. Takes care of all the lumps for nice creamy potatoes!

Stacey (The Habit of Healthy)

Roast garlic is simply amazing, I love it.

Amber

Try using red skinned potatoes instead. Russet potatoes are more starchy which gives the runny effect… but red skinned potatoes are creamier and totally delicious. You don’t even have to peel them because the skin is so thin! My husband taught me this and every holiday he makes amazing potatoes!

sabrina

A hand mixer (or Kitchenaid) makes them so fluffy they melt in your mouth!

Some tips for cooking: (1) add potatoes to pot, cover with COLD water, and then heat to a boil. This does something to the starch and makes them really yummy; (2) Poke with a fork. If it breaks, it’s cooked; and (3) When you take them off the stove, strain into a colander with a pot underneath to catch the water. If the potatoes are undercooked, keep the colander over the pot, and cover with a dish towel for 10 mins or so. They’ll steam and finish cooking.

sarahMTSBB

i bake my potatoes whole, cut them in half, scoop out the insides with a spoon, and put them through a potato ricer….add some milk, butter, salt, & pepper and you have fabulous mashed potatoes. really!

Wine Girl (Kitchen Doesn't Travel)

I don’t love making mashed potatoes either. But the main reason I don’t make them is that I will eat the entire pot of them myself. I can’t stop myself. The more butter, the better. They are my most favorite food. When eating out, I frequently order the entree that comes with mashed potatoes and if mashed aren’t available, I’ll pick the entree that comes with what ever variety of potato is available. I’ve never met a potato I didn’t like!

Camille

I just realized that your neighbors must want to break in to your apartment to eat all the good smells that come from it!

Jessica @ The Process of Healing

Mmm.. gotta love sushi and mashed potatoes 🙂
I’m bad at making them too.. and peeling potatoes is pretty much one of my most hated things. Ever.

Laura @ Backstage Pass to Health & Happiness

I love your dialogue! So witty and reminds me of a conversation I’d have with a friend.
Will we get to see your plated mashed potatoes, or no?

Rachael

I have that exact same apron at home! Love!

Susan@MomSwimBikeRun

I wanted to see the pretty end product? You teased me the whole way and then nothin’. Hmph!!! 😉

Kelsey

never been to traffic court. It’s not against the law to talk on a cell phone while driving here, which I’m really glad about.

stacey-healthylife

Love the apron.

Kris

Lol! The best, and I mean best, mashed potato recipe is from
The Barefoot Contessa. Try her Parmesan Smashed potatoes.

And I always “mash” mine in the Kitchen Aid. So much easier.

I think I’ll try roasting squash this wknd.!

Cecilia

Easiest way to make mashed potatoes? Use the microwave. Seriously. Cooking potatoes in the microwave is actually one of the best possible ways to steam potatoes–one prevents extra water seepage in the cooking process, plus all of the nutrients from the skin (in which the only nutrients in a potato reside) are trapped inside instead of leeching out into the boiling liquid. Scrub them, poke them with a fork, place on a paper towel in your microwave, and press the “potato” button. Then, once cooked, cut them in half, stick each half face down in the potato ricer, and press away! The genius is that you don’t even need to peel them or chop them–the peel gets left behind in the ricer, which you can then toss. Then, I just add a cup of steamed milk and some melted butter, lots of salt and pepper, and mix it up with a big wooden spoon until it’s just creamy (over-mixing potatoes is the devil’s work, don’t do it!) The ricer really is the key tool–they’re not too expensive, and they actually serve several quite practical uses in the kitchen (I use mine to drain defrosted spinach and even to puree fresh tomatoes for sauce when I am disinclined to haul out the food processor).

HVL

Potato ricer/hand masher is the answer.

Also – no sympathy for you getting pulled over. Having one hand off the wheel for a long time coupled with the potential distractions if you drop your phone makes it dangerous. It’s common sense.

If you must talk and drive, get a hands free kit

Jennifer

So… I grew up slicing the potatoes in rounds, like you would if you were frying them- like chips, only a bit thicker. They boil much faster that way. And we cream them with a mixer. With some butter and milk (or half-and half, or sour cream, or whatever you wish…) It’s really, really easy.