OK, I had to get this recipe up before Christmas in case anyone wanted to make these. I got the recipe from Stacie at work. I made them last year on Christmas morning, but Stacie told me they're even better when you make them ahead, especially if you get a chance to freeze them. Any holiday preparation I can get done a few days ahead is a HUGE help in this one-woman-family, the buck stops HERE. Everything that's gonna be done has to be done by me. So this year I made 'em on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving & stashed them in my freezer. Per Stacie's instructions I took them out and set them on the counter as soon as I got up Thanksgiving morning and baked them when the Turkey came out of the oven.
She was right, they were good before, but made ahead and frozen they were FABULOUS! We hardly even needed any gravy. They got nice and golden on top with lovely brown edges, so very yummy.
I don't know if I will have any photos to share Because Hubby owns the good camera in our family & after I took Thanksgiving photos he re-claimed it. But trust me these are good potatoes, give 'em a try!
Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
8 to 10 potatoes
8oz cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
4 to 6 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste
Peel potatoes & cut into uniformly sized pieces.
Put the potatoes in a large pot & add enough cold water to cover the potatoes. NOTE: starting with cold water helps the potatoes cook more evenly, if you add the potatoes to already boiling water the outsides of the potatoes will overcook before the middles are done. Bring the water to a boil, you can add salt to the water now if you want, and cook until a knife inserted into the potato slides in easily with little resistance. Test a few pieces to make sure they're all done to the middle. Drain potatoes.
Note: I like to use a potato ricer instead of mashing for even fluffier potatoes, but my ricer requires strong-man power so when I don't have a man standing around willing to help me out, I use a regular potato masher. Mash potatoes while hot once you get the big lumps out add cream cheese and sour cream. At this point I like to switch to a hand mixer. Beat potatoes until fluffy and smooth add salt and pepper to taste.
Place in a 9" x 13" baking dish dot with butter cover with foil and put in the fridge overnight (an overnight stint in the freezer makes them even better.)
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 min with foil, then uncover and bake 20 more minutes
serves 10 to 12
CookSmart Tip: I often make this recipe using the full bag of potatoes (so it makes a little more) then rather than place in a baking dish, I divide the potatoes into two gallon size freezer bags. I seal the bags, flatten them out and freeze. Then I have mashed potatoes ready made in my freezer for an easy weeknight side dish. I defrost the potatoes, place in a baking dish, and bake until hot. You can re-heat them in a microwave but texture will be nicer if you bake them as intended.
Posts
3 comments:
I really love the concept of making potatoes ahead of time, brilliant!
Like the blog and keep up the good work.
This sounds almost just like Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes that we made for dinner this evening. The only difference was she used Half & Half in place of your sour cream. She also suggested that they can be prepared ahead of time and then baked up to two days later. :)
BTW, they are very good and creamy mashed potatoes.
Thanks Robert, I'm glad you enjoy the site.
Sheila, I was paging thru Pioneer Woman's book just this week and thought those potatoes looked similar.
My Aunt Virginia was a caterer & I remember her telling me that cream cheese was the key to keeping eggs from drying out on a buffet line. I'll bet the cream cheese in these potatoes is performing a similar function.
Post a Comment