mashed potato king

Once upon a time there was a typical meat, potato, and vegetable American family. The potatoes were often mashed. And in abundant supply. One family member would often assume the awesome responsibility of avoiding leftover mashed potatoes. By eating much more than the average meat, potato, and vegetable guy portion. Preferably with lots of gravy or butter. Though at the end of the meal the butter would no longer melt in its little well in the middle of the mound. Actually it was margarine, since this family was not in the butter tax bracket. [It was also the golden age of pre-fat awareness.] And when there were leftovers, they became mashed potato cakes, fried in butter (margarine) in hamburger shaped globs. In shorter supply being already in the leftover stage. But still fair game for the mashed potato king. dr bob before the dr.

Lately dr bob hasn't been having much mashed potatoes. But being an avid newspaper recipe collector, he stumbled on an article about mashed potatoes and ways to enhance them, assuming that one felt the need to improve on the traditional hunk of butter (margarine) and not too much milk. [Too much makes potato slop, right Claire?] However, with a food info glut of regularly and irregularly arriving cooking magazines and women's magazines in addition to the big cardboard box full of newspaper clippings, dr bob's faulty memory couldn't pin down the place he'd seen it. Fortunately it was on top of the pile where he first looked and became one of the few to actually get used.

Among the suggestions was using buttermilk instead of milk, but the supermarket was closed and the last bit in the fridge had fed the bread machine that afternoon. Nonfat yogurt could be substituted it said. And boiling a yellow turnip with the potatoes was another presumably mutually exclusive idea. Almost never had turnips before. The ones on hand turned out to be white. One was added with some garlic pulp leftover from pressing about 4 cloves for other purposes. The potatoes had been around too long and had to be peeled, but the new ones bought for the occasion got to keep their skins. The vitamins are supposed to be there. After about 15 minutes of full (salted boil), the chopped potatoes (roughly 3/4 in) sat in their potato water until serving time.

Then some leftover nonfat yogurt, about 1/3 an 8oz container, with a little milk thrown in, and a tablespoon of unsalted butter, and some fresh chopped parsley. And a half cup of grated parmigiano and romano were mashed together with our 5 speed electric beaters. Some salt and generous freshly ground pepper. Not bad.

Did we forget to list the ingredients?

ingredients

some potatoes, with skins if good enough
1 turnip
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/3 c plain nonfat yogurt
not too much milk
1 T unsalted butter
some fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 c grated parmigiano, romano
salt, freshly ground pepper to taste

instructions

  1. See above.

notes

  1. This is not a real rigid recipe. But it began the mashed potato renaissance in the dr bob cooking team circle.
  2. Claire is half-American, half-French, but raised French. Apparently without cooking lessons. With a newborn daughter on a year long academic visit to Berserkely with her absentminded professor husband (totally French), she was initiated into the mom/housewife business. Being European, it was natural to invite the neighbors for dinner. She had an American cookbook (sublet furnished apartment) and tried the mashed potatoes, but not being well versed in the amazing American units, overdid the milk a bit. Not being (fully) American, she did not know the difference. We did not tell her.
mshptkng.htm: 2-aug-2001 [what, ME cook? © 1984 dr bob enterprises]