November 23, 2009

Holiday Potatoes

I wonder how many homes across America will have mashed potatoes on their dinner tables on Thursday? I know we will. We’re really excited this year because we’ve been invited to spend Thanksgiving with SirHoney’s cousin and some of her extended family.

One of my contributions for this Thanksgiving Dinner is mashed potatoes, so of course, I’ll be making BigSis’ infamous, “go to” mashed potato recipe, Holiday Potatoes.

BigSis has been making this mashed potato recipe for our Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations for many years now. When we had all our kids at home, she would start with 10 pounds of potatoes in order to bring two 13 x 9 dishes for my hungry guys!

This recipe is actually in a cookbook that she put together over 20 years ago and she’s always called them Holiday Potatoes. If you browse the Internet, you’ll find similar recipes called Refrigerator Potatoes or Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes. The quantities vary slightly.

(I made a couple of changes this time. I added the garlic cloves, omitted the nutmeg, and added the fried shallots.)

Holiday Potatoes

9 large potatoes (I used white, but you can use Russet or Yukon Gold) peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 stick butter, softened
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c. sour cream
3 large shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 1/2 c. canola oil
salt and pepper to taste

Place the potatoes and the garlic cloves in a large saucepan and add water to cover. Boil until potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat the oil until hot, add the shallots and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they are golden, about 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shallots to a paper towel to drain.

Once tender, drain and place the potatoes in a large bowl. Cut butter and cream cheese into small pieces and add to bowl. Beat with electric mixer until potatoes are fluffy. Beat in sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or place in a buttered casserole dish and refrigerate.

To reheat, bake for 20 minutes or so at 350 degrees. (I like heating mine until they’re a little brown around the edges.) Right before serving, sprinkle the shallots with salt and garnish the potatoes with the shallots.

I really liked the addition of the garlic cloves; it gave the potatoes just a very slight garlic taste. I LOVE garlic, so next time I might even add a couple more cloves.

Making the mashed potatoes this way really saves the hassle of having to beat the potatoes at the very last minute. I’m making mine on Wednesday and will refrigerate overnight, allowing me to work on other things on Thursday morning.

You might remember that this past Easter, BigSis and I thought it would be fun to do something a little different, so we turned our mashed potatoes into this Pink Potatotini.

Pink Potatotini

I won’t be making pink potatoes for Thanksgiving, but you just can’t go wrong with this recipe for Holiday Potatoes. If you happen to make them for the first time, please let me know what you think!

~LilSis

November 20, 2008

I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is next week! And, guess what else that means? Vegas, Baby!  SisMama, BigSis, and I will be in Vegas for BigSis’ birthday celebration! They will be flying from Dallas to Vegas on Monday; then I’ll join them on Tuesday. We will celebrate BigSis’ birthday, which is on Wednesday, then we’ll fly back home on Thanksgiving Day! It will be a quick trip but fun, fun, fun!  We’re staying at one of our favorites, MGM Grand.

MGM Grand

We’re SO bummed that Elton isn’t going to be in Vegas while we’re there this time. I was just thinking about the last time we saw him. It was Summer, 2006 and SisMama treated us to the Elton John Red Piano show, which we all LOVED!

I’ve seen him three times and still haven’t managed to get on stage when he sings “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”. And believe me, I’ve tried!

Before the show, we took Daddy and Sis Mama to the Toby Keith I Love This Bar and Grill at Harrahs. Daddy loved that place. He tried their famous chicken fried steak and he said that it was the best chicken fried steak that he’d ever eaten. Good Ole Comfort Food!

Toby Keith's Famous Chicken Fried Steak and Country Gravy

Sorry, I got a little sidetracked; I get excited talking about Vegas. Back to Thanksgiving…I’m feeling a little guilty about going to Vegas right at the holiday and leaving SirHoney and BigT in charge of the food!  Don’t feel too sorry for them, though. SirHoney will pick up the “cooked” turkey from our favorite spot, Tip Top Meats in Carlsbad, on his way home from golfing. They do a great job at roasting a turkey so I won’t feel too guilty that I didn’t cook it myself.

I’ll make these Refrigerator Potatoes before I leave on Tuesday so they will be all ready to heat up on Thursday.  I know, I know, make ahead mashed potatoes? Don’t knock it til you try it. My family LOVES them! (If you’re trying to watch your fat and calorie intake; run far, far away from these potatoes!) They are really hard to resist! The men in my family love these so much that I have to double the recipe and make ten pounds.

That leads me to the other side dishes.  If anyone knows of a couple of good side dishes that freeze easily so I can make them ahead this weekend, please leave a comment.  I probably won’t make stuffing this year and we aren’t big sweet potato eaters, so I’m drawing a blank! I would like something green; maybe some type of spinach dish instead of the traditional green bean casserole.

Thanksgiving Day, I will arrive back in San Diego at noon and home by 1:00.  I can’t wait to see if dinner is all ready for me when I walk in the door!

~LilSis