Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Baked Potato Mashed Potatoes

"Those were the best mashed potatoes I've ever had." Sister-in-Law
"Those were the best mashed potatoes I've ever had." Brother-in-Law
"These are the best mashed potatoes I've ever had." My Amazing Husband
 "Oh my goodness, these are the best mashed potatoes I've ever had." Me

They don't need gravy.

Who has ever met a mashed potato that didn't need gravy??

I'm always trying to find the holy grail of the mashed potato. Roasted garlic. Cream cheese. Roasted red peppers. Caramelized onions. Cheese of any kind. Or all of the above.

I've tried 'em all. And they always taste like spruced up mashed potatoes. Yes, they were really good, but they're all just variations on the theme of the plain kind.

And they always needed gravy.

Until now.

I don't have a picture, because who thinks to take a picture of mashed potatoes? They don't look any different than your ordinary mashed potato.

[Insert your idea of what a mashed potato looks like here.]

But the flavor is radically different from your ordinary mashed potato. I'll say again: they don't need gravy.

Note: I never measure when I'm cooking unless I'm baking or trying a strange new recipe. So these measurements are rough and approximate.

Baked Potato Mashed Potatoes
a.k.a. Don't Put Gravy on these Mashed Potatoes

1 medium potato for each person (Russet or Yukon Gold)
butter: 1-2 Tbsp. per potato
cream: 1 Tbsp. per potato
sour cream:* a dollop per potato
chopped green onion* / chives: 1-2 Tbsp. per potato
bacon grease*: 1/2-1 tsp. per potato
salt and pepper to taste
garlic and onion powder (not garlic or onion salt) to taste

*These are the secret weapons of the recipe.

Boil your chopped potatoes (skin on) in salted water as usual. Mash and add the rest of the ingredients.

Prepare to hear "these are the best mashed potatoes I've ever had in my life."

Could you add bacon itself? Probably, but I don't like how bacon gets soggy when you add it to other things.
Could you add cheese? Yes, but why complicate matters? They're already rich enough.
Could you bake/roast the potatoes instead of boiling them? By George, I think that might be brilliant... but it will require more research.

What are you making?

6 comments:

Amy Sullivan said...

Okay, so I'm not making anything, however, these sound YUM! Thanks for sharing. Bacon grease? Hmmm, I never even considered this!

Jenna St. Hilaire said...

Sounds awesome. Very much so. :)

I put up my favorite fall recipe today--made it for Lou on Sunday, and we both enjoyed it very much. Apparently it's also called snert. I'm just enough of a junior-higher to find that funny.

The Sojourner said...

...

As someone who never uses gravy and is known to eat mashed potatoes cold because she doesn't want to wait the time it takes to heat them up...I don't get this post.

I am happy everyone liked your cooking, though.

April@The 21st Century Housewife said...

Your recipe sounds delicious! Thanks for hosting!

Tori said...

Whoops! I posted my recipe yesterday morning then forgot to come back and link it!

These potatoes look so tasty, I'll have to try them soon!

Unknown said...

We made these potatoes tonight!! DELICIOUS!!! Even my toddler devoured it - He will only touch potatoes if I cut them into french fry shapes so he can dip them in ketchup (he's only in it for the ketchup). We baked the potatoes and left the skin in. Soooo good :)

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