Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Garlic be damned! These potatoes will be AMAZING!!!!

I have mentioned in prior blogs that I'm hosting my first Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people! (YIKES)...so test runs of my recipes are in order.  Last night I tackled a ghost from my past.......mashed potatoes.

Rewind to Thanksgiving circa 2005.  These were the dark days when the Southern Stump (that's me) could not even boil water...let alone prepare a dish.  I wanted, however, to prove to my family (and myself)...that I was growing up and capable of doing grown up responsible things.  I offered to make the mashed potatoes for our Thanksgiving feast.

All started well but .....after the potatoes were mashed and I was adding the spices and other ingredients...something went horribly wrong.  You see,  I was preparing garlic mashed potatoes and where the recipe likely (in hindsight) called for one bulb of garlic...I read "1 lb" of garlic...you can see where this is going.

The smell of these potatoes could have wiped out the entire population of Transylvania.  The look of horror on my sister-in-laws parent's faces when they dug in (not to mention my immediate family who did the right thing and said 'They aren't THAT bad') was horrifying!  So you understand,  I have something to prove this year now that I'm a pretty decent cook!

I am re-tackling the GARLIC MASHED POTATOES!!!!

This year,  I am cutting back (WAY back) on the garlic...sticking to one or two cloves so you get a hint of flavor and not a bitch slap in the face and bad breath for a month!  I am also adding about a half cup (3/4 - 1 cup) of Parmesan Cheese which is not overpowering at all but adds an additional richness.

I was working on these last night in my test kitchen and when my man came in,  I warned him as I spooned yet another tablespoon of butter into my saucepan...that this is Thanksgiving Test Kitchen and it ain't light on the calories or fat content ;)!  Paula Dean would be so proud ;)!

Anyway,  here they are (along with some roasted veg and lemon grilled chicken).

Like a girl who blacked out on Friday so cuts WAY back on the alcohol for the next 3 weeks,  I think I'm still ooooober sensitive to the garlic taste and might even drop it to one clove only!   On Thanksgiving,  I will hope for the best and strategically put my head down as everyone samples.  Hopefully it will only be enough garlic to kill the demons of Thanksgivings past ;)!

4 comments:

  1. I love it that you remember my parents' faces as they dug into those potatoes.

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  2. The whole thing was honestly mortifying and has now become a Thanksgiving "funny story" staple at the table!

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  3. Try roasting the garlic first - It kills that pungent flavor. Heat the oven to 400 degrees, cut off a half inch off the top of a whole bulb of garlic and drizzle some olive oil over the whole thing and wrap it in tin foil. Leave it in the oven for 35-40 minutes and when you take it out, the garlic will be soft and spreadable. Use as much as you want in the potatoes and the rest of the cloves can be used to make garlic bread or served with Brie/Camembert and crackers. This will change your whole outlook on garlic mashed potatoes.

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  4. Thanks GauchoGirl...good idea! Another friend also recommended boiling the garlic with the potatoes. I might test out both!

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