What's On Your Plate???

[kronin323]

I should add that when you reduce port or wine or some other alcohol, since alcohol is more volatile than water, it evaporates first, just leaving the flavor. So the end result has no alcohol in it; it's safe to serve to kids and teetotalers...

 

[kronin323]

Also forgot to mention - for some extra flavor, at the end of the pan sauce you can add some fresh chopped herbs like parsley or something.

 

[kronin323]

Best standard mashed potatoes recipe:

This recipe is for 5 lbs. If you want to cook less, portion the other ingredients proportionately (i.e. 2.5 lbs potatoes = 1/2 as much of the other stuff)

- Peel 5 lbs of potatoes. People commonly use russet because they're big (less peeling) and cheap, but Yukon Gold will give you better results. Rinse after peeling.
- Cut them into smaller pieces so they cook faster. You don't need to overdo it, just halve or quarter; as long as the pieces are all about the same size.
- Boil the potatoes in a pot of water for about 30 mins. They're done when you can run them through with a fork without resistance, almost about to fall apart.
- Drain them in a large colander. Return the drained potatoes to the dry pot.
- Secret tip to best mashed potatoes #1 - when you mash them, do it over the stove on low heat, allowing all of the steam to escape. This prevents them from being watery or mealy.
- Secret tip to best mashed potatoes #2 - mash them with an old-school hand masher; don't use an electric mixer. The blades of the mixer can break down the starch in the potatoes and make them gummy.
- Turn off heat and cut up 1 1/2 sticks of softened (room temperature) butter into the mashed potatoes.
- Secret tip to best mashed potatoes #3 - cut up an 8 oz package of cream cheese into the mashed potatoes. Yes, cream cheese. Even if you hate cream cheese. I promise, nobody will be able to taste the cream cheese in the final result. But it will make them the most delectable, creamy potatoes you've ever had. I did these last Thanksgiving and then quizzed the guests to identify the secret ingredient; nobody could guess it.
- Finally, add about 1/2 cup of heavy cream. You can substitute half & half if you want, but why bother? With all the butter and cream cheese, that's like having a diet soda with your triple-decker 3/4lb burger and extra large fries...
- Now mash in the butter, cream cheese, and cream until well mixed. EDIT - if they're too thick, add more cream, a splash at a time.
- Salt to taste (start small and add bit-by-bit until it tastes right). If you want, you can also add pepper or other seasonings of your choosing. Mix in the seasonings well.

Serve and enjoy!

Now that you see how labor intensive this is, you can understand why I skimped for store-bought last night...

 

[Duke Nivram]

Best standard mashed potatoes recipe:

This recipe is for 5 lbs. If you want to cook less, portion the other ingredients proportionately (i.e. 2.5 lbs potatoes = 1/2 as much of the other stuff)

- Peel 5 lbs of potatoes. People commonly use russet because they're big (less peeling) and cheap, but Yukon Gold will give you better results. Rinse after peeling.
- Cut them into smaller pieces so they cook faster. You don't need to overdo it, just halve or quarter; as long as the pieces are all about the same size.
- Boil the potatoes in a pot of water for about 30 mins. They're done when you can run them through with a fork without resistance, almost about to fall apart.
- Drain them in a large colander. Return the drained potatoes to the dry pot.
- Secret tip to best mashed potatoes #1 - when you mash them, do it over the stove on low heat, allowing all of the steam to escape. This prevents them from being watery or mealy.
- Secret tip to best mashed potatoes #2 - mash them with an old-school hand masher; don't use an electric mixer. The blades of the mixer can break down the starch in the potatoes and make them gummy.
- Turn off heat and cut up 1 1/2 sticks of softened (room temperature) butter into the mashed potatoes.
- Secret tip to best mashed potatoes #3 - cut up an 8 oz package of cream cheese into the mashed potatoes. Yes, cream cheese. Even if you hate cream cheese. I promise, nobody will be able to taste the cream cheese in the final result. But it will make them the most delectable, creamy potatoes you've ever had. I did these last Thanksgiving and then quizzed the guests to identify the secret ingredient; nobody could guess it.
- Finally, add about 1/2 cup of heavy cream. You can substitute half & half if you want, but why bother? With all the butter and cream cheese, that's like having a diet soda with your triple-decker 3/4lb burger and extra large fries...
- Now mash in the butter, cream cheese, and cream until well mixed. EDIT - if they're too thick, add more cream, a splash at a time.
- Salt to taste (start small and add bit-by-bit until it tastes right). If you want, you can also add pepper or other seasonings of your choosing. Mix in the seasonings well.

Serve and enjoy!

Now that you see how labor intensive this is, you can understand why I skimped for store-bought last night...

what i like to do is throw some peeled garlic cloves in the water and boil with the potatoes then mash it up for garlic mashed potatoes

 

[QLR1]

Lol... Is cheese permissible in these recipes, @kronin323?

 

[kronin323]

what i like to do is throw some peeled garlic cloves in the water and boil with the potatoes then mash it up for garlic mashed potatoes

Yeah - that's a good one. I love garlic mashed potatoes but I usually only do a big batch like this for big gatherings, and not all my guests like garlic in them; their loss...

 

[kronin323]

Lol... Is cheese permissible in these recipes, @kronin323?

lol - sure... Funny that you mention it, though - The Wife isn't a big fan of cheese (WTF?) so I don't cook with it very often. She does dig my cauliflower au gratin, though, which has swiss cheese in it (another Julia Child recipe). And grated parmesan with her spaghetti.

The JC stuff is French-based cooking. Really, it's not about learning recipes; it's about learning the different techniques and being able to get consistent results. Takes practice.

 

[Duke Nivram]

almost all jc recipies start with take a pound of butter and slowly fold in a pound of butter

gotta love clasical french cooking

 

[Rustpot]

It's not the butter that gets you. It's portions.

 

[kronin323]

16" x 24" tiles, each box had to weigh at least 50 lbs, probably more (I need to weigh one). So, 51 boxes x 50 lbs = I had to move at least 2550 lbs of tile last night.

BTW, I weighed one of those tile boxes tonight. I was guessing 50 - 60 lbs but they actually ended up being 70 lbs each. So the other night I had to wrangle and hand-carry 3570 lbs worth of tile in 70 lbs increments over about a 30 foot distance.

To quote Murtaugh, I'm too old for this sh!t...

or at least too out of shape...