Recipe: Mashed Potatoes - Basic Cooking, Additions and Variations

MASHED POTATOES
Basic Cooking, Additions and Variations

BASIC COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
Cook with their skins, then rinse and peel. Cook potatoes until fork tender. Heat milk until scalding. Drain potatoes; peel if necessary. Place in mixer. Pour heated milk into mixer with potatoes. Whip on low setting until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Add butter or margarine and salt. Whip on high setting for 3-4 minutes.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
Mashed potatoes can be simple or fancy, inexpensive or upscale.

- Top with brown gravy and serve with meat loaf.

- Top with butter and serve with fried chicken.

- Mix with horseradish and serve with steak.

- Add roasted garlic and serve with lobster tail.

ADDITIONS AND VARIATIONS:
- Blend mashed potatoes with finely chopped Nicoise olives, olive oil, milk, salt and pepper.

- Add sauteed onion, chopped basil, minced garlic and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to mashed potatoes.

- Saute minced shallots, minced garlic, chopped mushrooms and chopped black olives in butter. Form mashed potatoes into 3-inch pancakes. Top half of the pancakes with 1 tablespoon vegetable mixture. Top with remaining pancakes. Saute in butter.

- Beat 3 egg yolks and add to 1 pint mashed potatoes. Add butter and cream until mixture is of piping consistency. Using a star tube, pipe potatoes onto baking sheets. Sprinkle grated Swiss cheese on top. Bake at 300 degrees F until brown.

- Make a tri-colored mashed potato presentation: Add pureed spinach and Parmesan cheese to one portion of mashed potatoes. Add tomato paste, basil and olive oil to another portion. Serve red, green and white mashed potatoes.

LOW FAT ADDITIONS:
- Mashed Idaho Potatoes also have a healthy side. Tasty, satisfying, nutrition-oriented mashed potatoes can be made by:

- Using herbs instead of salt to accent the natural flavor of mashed potatoes.

- Adding mashed potatoes to a leek and onion soup base. Add buttermilk and paprika for lively flavor.

- Preparing mashed potatoes with chicken stock and skim milk. Add ground nutmeg or ground coriander to taste.

Source: Idaho Potato Commission