On Tue 13 Jan 2009 09:23:30a, Lynn from Fargo told us...

> On Jan 13, 8:23*am, wrote:
>> Do you boil the whole potato with skin still on? *My better half
>> swears this matters tastewise, but for me, it just adds to the time to
>> get dinner on *the table. I like to just quarter them, peeled of
>> course, and they are ready to push through the ricer *in about 10
>> minutes. *The whole skin-on method takes over a half hour, not
>> counting the peeling time.
>>
>> *Now, I'm NOT tawkin' about *mashing and eating *them with the skin
> on
>> - that's a whole other story.
>
> ===========================Peel 'em first. Cold water to cover with a
> spoonful of salt and a couple of cloves of whole peeled garlic. Cook &
> drain (leave the garlic in there. It will be very soft.. While still
> hot, beat with portable mixer adding (real) butter and whole milk or
> cream. Keep warm.
> When I'm cooking for a crowd (50+/-), I do several 4 to 6 quart dutch
> ovens instead of gigantic pots because my arms are too shortto handle
> a mixer in a 16+ quart kettle.
>
> Lynn in Fargo
> NEVER serve instant mashed "potatoes" to ANYBODY!
>

That's the same method I use, Lynn. Depending on what I'm serving it with,
I sometimes add a bay leaf to the cooking water along with the garlic and
salt. Real butter and (preferably) cream. Another addition I sometimes
make is grated cheddar cheese, but the basics are the same.

I don't know where the hell the concept of unpeeled, lumpy, clumpy,
squashed potatoes came from, but they certainly don't qualify as mashed.
Easier and faster to throw together, I'm sure, and probably from some
restaurant originally.



--
Wayne Boatwright
(correct the spelling of "geemail" to reply)
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Date: Tuesday, 01(I)/13(XIII)/09(MMIX)
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Countdown till Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
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