Lilac Mashed Potatoes
Total time: about 45 minutes (or 3/4 of an episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey)
Approximate cost: 6 bucks
Mashed potatoes are pretty familiar. In fact, you probably have a recipe in your mind for the perfect mashed potatoes. I don't want to get up in your grill, but every now and then you might want to jazz it up a bit -- no really. Your kids are begging you.
So like a good teacher, I backwards planned. Well, I want potatoes that are different from the everyday. How do I get there? Purple potatoes, scratch that, "Lilac Potatoes" because it's early summer and it sounds really bougie.
Ingredients:
2 large russet potatoes
3 medium purple potatoes
2 slices of black forest bacon (or Oscar Meyer, whatevs)
1/2 c half and half (or cream, or milk, or anything that comes out of a cow's udder)
salt, pepper (natch)
1/2 tsb butter
1/4 c parmesan (I prefer the shaved kind but it doesn't really matter)
caramelized onions (if you feel fancy) optional
a bit of chopped parsley (makes it pretty) optional
1. Rinse your potatoes. Scrub them if you have a scrubber (I didn't so I just rubbed them really hard under water)
2. Chop your potatoes into cube-ish pieces. Each one should probably be about the size of a golfball. I cut each potato into half and then thirds. As long as most of the pieces are the same size (so they cook about the same time) you'll be fine. Oh -- store the cut potatoes in water to prevent them from oxidizing while...
...you set a big pot of water to boil. Here's a picture of boiling water for reference. Salt it liberally (a nice big pinch or two). If you followed my directions in order, you might have to sit and wait while the water comes to a boil. Luckily, there's a Housewives of NJ marathon on so catch up on good ol' Theresa G. while your water boils.
Phew! So much drama.
3. Put the potatoes in the boiling water. Definitely deserving of its own step. The potatoes will need about 15-20 minutes to boil. Better go check on mama Caroline M. and see what sage advice she's dishing out.
Wait, wait! Before you sit down, chop your raw bacon into small strips. They can hang out while you watch TV.
When you can pierce the potatoes easily with a fork like this....
4. Drain them like this....
5. In the same pot that held the potatoes, toss in your raw bacon (you might need to wipe out some potato residue). Turn the heat to medium as the bacon starts to sizzle and brown.
The bacon will start rendering out some delicious, delicious fat. Now, I was tempted to just leave all the yummy fat in, but logic prevailed (and the fact that my pants were getting pretty tight), so I grabbed a folded paper towel with some tongs and sopped up a bit of the fat (leaving some in for flavor) and tossed the greasy towel in the trash.
I happened to have some leftover caramelized onions in my fridge. I don't normally have them, but I thought they'd be tasty in these potatoes so I added them in. If you don't have a cadre of caramelized onions hiding in your fridge you can add some regular raw onion at this point. Or skip it. It's neither here nor there really.
6. Now add your potatoes back in. Salt and pepper liberally. Honestly, salt it a little bit more than you think. Pepper it a little more than you'd think too. Then toss in your milk/cream/curds, butter and parm. Start your mashing. If you notice it seizing up and really thick, add a little more milk. Do yourself a favor and leave it a little chunky. It should have some pieces you can stab with a fork. It's more rustic that way. In my head, 'rustic' conjures images of a farmer's wife in a bonnet hunched over a wooden stove while her children fight off bouts of malaria and dysentery. Yep -- you'll get all of that from a bit of chunky potato.
Here it is. Your Lilac Potatoes. Now Edward, I thought there'd be lilac flavor in here or something. The lilac comes from the gentle purple color afforded by the purple potatoes. Now shut up before you get dysentery.
Total time: about 45 minutes (or 3/4 of an episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey)
Approximate cost: 6 bucks
Mashed potatoes are pretty familiar. In fact, you probably have a recipe in your mind for the perfect mashed potatoes. I don't want to get up in your grill, but every now and then you might want to jazz it up a bit -- no really. Your kids are begging you.
So like a good teacher, I backwards planned. Well, I want potatoes that are different from the everyday. How do I get there? Purple potatoes, scratch that, "Lilac Potatoes" because it's early summer and it sounds really bougie.
Ingredients:
2 large russet potatoes
3 medium purple potatoes
2 slices of black forest bacon (or Oscar Meyer, whatevs)
1/2 c half and half (or cream, or milk, or anything that comes out of a cow's udder)
salt, pepper (natch)
1/2 tsb butter
1/4 c parmesan (I prefer the shaved kind but it doesn't really matter)
caramelized onions (if you feel fancy) optional
a bit of chopped parsley (makes it pretty) optional
2. Chop your potatoes into cube-ish pieces. Each one should probably be about the size of a golfball. I cut each potato into half and then thirds. As long as most of the pieces are the same size (so they cook about the same time) you'll be fine. Oh -- store the cut potatoes in water to prevent them from oxidizing while...
3. Put the potatoes in the boiling water. Definitely deserving of its own step. The potatoes will need about 15-20 minutes to boil. Better go check on mama Caroline M. and see what sage advice she's dishing out.
When you can pierce the potatoes easily with a fork like this....
Here it is. Your Lilac Potatoes. Now Edward, I thought there'd be lilac flavor in here or something. The lilac comes from the gentle purple color afforded by the purple potatoes. Now shut up before you get dysentery.
