A place for the discussion of all things not closely related to the sport and its competitive side. (Locked down several times a year during the major championships)
gh wrote:What kind of potatoes DO make the best mashers? I'm partial to Yukon Golds myself.
give this man a cigar! the 20 lbs. bag i peeled with love thanksgivin morn were those very spuds. creamy and delicious. russets for baking and reds for boiling. imho. there is still much research to be done.
Is it the potato, or the dressing/seasoning mixed with the potato which makes for a good mashed potato? Don:t ask us here about mashed potatos, though, as nearly everyone puts ketchup on theirs.
SQUACKEE wrote:the 20 lbs. bag i peeled with love thanksgivin morn were those very spuds. creamy and delicious. russets for baking and reds for boiling. imho. there is still much research to be done.
All correct, plus baby whites for roasted rosemaries.
EPelle wrote:Is it the potato, or the dressing/seasoning mixed with the potato which makes for a good mashed potato? Don:t ask us here about mashed potatos, though, as nearly everyone puts ketchup on theirs.
everyone makes em a little differant. . peel and cut them in roughly the same size pieces so they cook evenly. place in cold water as your peeling so they dont discolor. boil until they are soft but not mushy. drain and rinse in cold water. place in large bowl. slowly add milk as you mash the by hand. the electric beaters are nice but you are far more likely to over whip them. i like cream cheese or sour cream along with butter and salt and pepper. beat until fluffy and then stop. a few lumps are ok with me.
eat more than your share. toppings are endless. but catsup???
p.s. im a little nervous. as mojo will tell you, these cooking threads can get really nasty!
I am a horrible cook, but one thing I insist on doing is making the pan fries.
Cut the potatoes (medium sized red ones probably work best) into 3/16" thick 'coins'
Get a big cooking pot of oil really hot, Medium High, not High High - and put about 15 coins in and boil till golden brown (overdone is better than underdone). Place cooked coins onto a platter with paper towels, flip once to soak excess oil off. Proceed with the rest of the coins. To feed a family of four, I have to cook about 8 medium-sized potatoes.
Salt (to taste, which means HEAVILY).
Nobody criticize this recipe, because it's the ONLY thing I think I can cook and I don't want to find out I can't even cook this (and cuz we all love em!). I do, however, think my wife tells me how great I cook them cuz she just doesn't want to deal with the mess (oil everywhere).
SQUACKEE wrote:everyone makes em a little differant. . peel
PEEL?!!! Where do you think all the great flavor is?!
i love the peel on a nicely crunchy baked russet. but a limp and soggy peel is not sexy. mojo was right its starting to heat up. good thing i can take the heat, so ill stay in the kitchen. now im gonna slam tafnut!
tafnut wrote:I am a horrible cook, but one thing I insist on doing is making the pan fries.
Cut the potatoes (medium sized red ones probably work best) into 3/16" thick 'coins' Get a big cooking pot of oil really hot, Medium High, not High High - and put about 15 coins in and boil till golden brown (overdone is better than underdone). Place cooked coins onto a platter with paper towels, flip once to soak excess oil off. Proceed with the rest of the coins. To feed a family of four, I have to cook about 8 medium-sized potatoes. Salt (to taste, which means HEAVILY).
Nobody criticize this recipe, because it's the ONLY thing I think I can cook and I don't want to find out I can't even cook this (and cuz we all love em!). I do, however, think my wife tells me how great I cook them cuz she just doesn't want to deal with the mess (oil everywhere).
I too put Heinz ketchup on smashed spuds- usually yukon golds mashed with milk, butter, salt and pepper, with a dash of dill, and sauteed onions mixed in a the last. Another fave is any kind of spud sliced and cooked on a George Foreman grill- no oil, season to taste after. Cuts down on the calories. Even yams are good this way.
EPelle wrote:Don:t ask us here about mashed potatoes, though, as nearly everyone puts ketchup on theirs.
So in your neck of the woods folks are putting ketchup on mashed potatoes and mayo on fries. You get too far from the equator and funny things start to happen.
Mashed or baked potatoes were made for butter (lots of it) and pepper (lots of that, too) only!!
Helen S wrote:I too put Heinz ketchup on smashed spuds- usually yukon golds mashed with milk, butter, salt and pepper, with a dash of dill, and sauteed onions mixed in a the last. Another fave is any kind of spud sliced and cooked on a George Foreman grill- no oil, season to taste after. Cuts down on the calories. Even yams are good this way.
gh wrote:PEEL?!!! Where do you think all the great flavor is?! Uh, what's this phrase "excess oil"? That's as oxymoronic as "too much sex"! It's the reason to eat fries in the first place.
OK, I'll grant you the peel flavor thing, but nothing ruins a good fried potato like oil skill clinging to it. People bash Mickey Ds all the time, but their fries are a culinary delight precisely because they have mastered the art&science of fries frying - no excess oil!
gh wrote:PEEL?!!! Where do you think all the great flavor is?! Uh, what's this phrase "excess oil"? That's as oxymoronic as "too much sex"! It's the reason to eat fries in the first place.
OK, I'll grant you the peel flavor thing, but nothing ruins a good fried potato like oil skill clinging to it. People bash Mickey Ds all the time, but their fries are a culinary delight precisely because they have mastered the art&science of fries frying - no excess oil!
WHAT!! your kidding? ok, im gonna assume your not kidding. so here's a test. i have a plate of mashed potatoes- beautiful, butter, nicely salted. i also have a plate of potato peels. since you believe all the flavor is in the peels you would choose those. im i correct? i await your anwser. you made one mistake. you made me mad!
Last edited by SQUACKEE on Tue Nov 29, 2005 3:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
gh wrote:People bash Mickey Ds all the time, but their fries are a culinary delight . . .
How it is that McD got so big selling their crappy burgers I'll never know (and I was around for most of it). But they do make a tasty french fry, no doubt about it. Not the best necessarily, but very good.
Oh, and the Egg McMuffins are pretty tasty too. Unfortunately, you cannot get both at the same time!
SQUACKEE wrote:WHAT!! your kidding? ok, im gonna assume your not kidding. so here's a test. i have a plate of mashed potatoes- beautiful, butter, nicely salted. i also have a plate of potato peels. since you believe all the flavor is in the peels you would choose those. im i correct? i await your anwser. you made one mistake. you made me mad!
NO NO NO I'm just saying that a good baked potato needs its skin or that you CAN leave the skin on for the fries.
Can't we just all get along?!
Last edited by tafnut on Tue Nov 29, 2005 3:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
SQUACKEE wrote:WHAT!! your kidding? ok, im gonna assume your not kidding. so here's a test. i have a plate of mashed potatoes- beautiful, butter, nicely salted. i also have a plate of potato peels. since you believe all the flavor is in the peels you would choose those. im i correct? i await your anwser. you made one mistake. you made me mad!
OK, the peel (or skin, as we say out here) debate. Anyone who eats a baked potato and leaves the skin behind should be shot. Steak fries with the skin on the end can be great (can suck too, depends on who makes them). I gotta agree that skins do not belong in mashed potatoes. I think folks add them to provide a bit of texture to the potatoes, but the texture should be provided with a few chunks of potatoes, not the skin.
SQUACKEE wrote:WHAT!! your kidding? ok, im gonna assume your not kidding. so here's a test. i have a plate of mashed potatoes- beautiful, butter, nicely salted. i also have a plate of potato peels. since you believe all the flavor is in the peels you would choose those. im i correct? i await your anwser. you made one mistake. you made me mad!
NO NO NO I'm just saying that a good baked potato needs its skin or that you CAN leave the skin on for the fries.
Can't we just all get along?!
oh, im sorry. i thought you were advocating peels in mashed potatoes. i love the skin on fries and its even better on my baked friends. no worries mate!
A good ol' boy I worked for in HS used to make "Butter Potatoes" at the company Christmas party...Peel and chop in half a 10lb bag of russett potatoes. Place them in an outdoor cooker (like a turkey fryer). Dump in approximately 1 gallon of butter or margarine. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook at a simmer until very tender.
Insanely good with a grilled steak and a cold cheap beer.
EPelle wrote:Don:t ask us here about mashed potatoes, though, as nearly everyone puts ketchup on theirs.
Canadians put ketchup on their Mac and Cheese (or "Kraft Dinner", as it is properly known in the local vernacular). Go ahead, ask 'em!
badhammy wrote:So in your neck of the woods fol ks are putting ketchup on mashed potatoes and mayo on fries. You get too far from the equator and funny things start to happen.
Mayo on french fries is superb! It's actually a big thing in France, or so I've heard. When I first moved to California, the local thing seemed to be dipping fries in a side of ranch dressing.
gh wrote:Let's just not get into some of the horrid things Canadians do w/ fries (aka chips)
Way ahead of you, gh -- nothing beats poutine, the (unofficial) national dish of Canada! Fries, poutine sauce, and cheese curds. Heaven (or heart attack) on a plate!
When I order this in California (have to tell them how to make it), people look at me as if I had three heads.
Note that the poutine in the photo is from Chez Ashton in Quebec City -- hands down the best poutine in the world... next to my own home-made version (although Harvey's has a pretty decent "fast food" version).
Another amusing link, for your edification (if you so choose):
mojo wrote:No peels in the mashed potatoes. (please).
OK, let me clarify. Since I said Yukon Golds were the proper potatoes for mashers, a better word would be "skin" since the YGs have such a fine covering to begin with. Can you live with those there?
But speaking of using the peels, after you've finished making fries and you want just an eentsy bit more, toss the peels (particularly from russets) into the oil. They're great too!
Helen S wrote: Any hints on how to make good home fries without using a lot of oil? Boiling 1 inch cubes frist before frying helps, but it is not perfect.
Do "cottage fries"; i.e., instead of cutting the potato into sticks, make "chips" out of them; the thinner you slice, the less oil you can get away with.
I do fries in the oven- seweet potatoes done that way are superb1
just cut the potatoes into wedges or whatever (don't want the potato nazis coming after me ) and toss with olive oil salt, any spices you like...nutmeg-yum! bake in a very hot oven until cooked through.
Alot less fat, mess and hassle.
But then fat is what makes a fry so good ..... but sometimes you gotta be good right?
2 pounds potatoes-russets
3/4 to 1 1/4 cups whole milk brought just to a boil and set aside
16 tablespoons chilled butter cut into pieces
sea salt to taste
boil unpeeled potatoes until cooked then peel and food mill or tamis (sieve)potatoes into pot, stir until dry then add butter by vigorously whipping into potatoes until incorporated then add 3/4 milk in slow thin stream while stirring vigorously ( if you are not sweating-not fast enough), then tamis (sieve) again and adjust with milk or butter and salt to taste.
From Chef Joel Robuchon
http://www.robuchon.com/
wineturtle wrote:2 pounds potatoes-russets 3/4 to 1 1/4 cups whole milk brought just to a boil and set aside 16 tablespoons chilled butter cut into pieces sea salt to taste
boil unpeeled potatoes until cooked then peel and food mill or tamis (sieve)potatoes into pot, stir until dry then add butter by vigorously whipping into potatoes until incorporated then add 3/4 milk in slow thin stream while stirring vigorously ( if you are not sweating-not fast enough), then tamis (sieve) again and adjust with milk or butter and salt to taste. From Chef Joel Robuchon http://www.robuchon.com/
wineturtle wrote:2 pounds potatoes-russets 3/4 to 1 1/4 cups whole milk brought just to a boil and set aside 16 tablespoons chilled butter cut into pieces sea salt to taste
boil unpeeled potatoes until cooked then peel and food mill or tamis (sieve)potatoes into pot, stir until dry then add butter by vigorously whipping into potatoes until incorporated then add 3/4 milk in slow thin stream while stirring vigorously ( if you are not sweating-not fast enough), then tamis (sieve) again and adjust with milk or butter and salt to taste. From Chef Joel Robuchon http://www.robuchon.com/
i love everything i read except........2 pounds
All of that vigorous stirring and sweating works off about 2 pounds, so it is a net zero.
as mojo will tell you, these cooking threads can get really nasty! 
)
Steak fries with the skin on the end can be great (can suck too, depends on who makes them). I gotta agree that skins do not belong in mashed potatoes. I think folks add them to provide a bit of texture to the potatoes, but the texture should be provided with a few chunks of potatoes, not the skin.
i thought you were advocating peels in mashed potatoes. 
