The Mission: Try out "Kittencal's Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes" as found on recipezaar.com since the recipe got great reviews and can be made ahead of time (see the link at the bottom of the page). The recipe says "you may even make them up to 2 days in advance." Which I thought was fantastic considering I had a lot of cooking to do for the Easter dinner. With this big side dish out of the way, I'd be free to concentrate on other things.
The Ingredients:- 8 large russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 6 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) cut into cubes
- 1 1/2 tsps onion powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup shredded cheddar (optional)
- paprika to sprinkle (optional
- ground black pepper (optional)
The Instructions: Butter a 9"x 13" casserole dish. Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling water with 1 Tbsp salt and 1 Tbsp white vinegar until just fork tender. Drain and place into a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer - I used my KA mixer - beat the hot potatoes until just semi smooth and still a little chunky. Add in cream cheese, sour cream butter, onion powder, salt, and black pepper. Mix until combined and smooth. Spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle lightly with paprika. Allow to come down to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. When ready, bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes in a 350*F oven. If desired, sprinkle with the shredded cheddar and return to the oven for 3 mintues or until cheese is melty.
The Results: I apparently chose super duper large potatoes, because mine were overflowing the KA mixer. So I spooned out about 4 cups worth and everything went back to normal. In my case, this had an extra bonus, since it left me with some plain mashed potatoes to serve to my husband, who was not interested in the "creamy junk" that was going into the fancy recipe. Silly husband. The potatoes turned out really well and the recipe went smoothly. My only regret is that I forgot the cheese. I'm sure they would've tasted fantastic covered in cheese, but they were pretty darned good with just the sprinkled paprika! Next time I might add a little bit of milk to make them slightly creamier. I thought mine turned out slightly on the dry side, but I probably should've scooped out more than 4 cups of my excess potatoes.
The Reviews:Everyone who attended my Easter Dinner had nice things to say about the potatoes. I'm very pleased with how they turned out - though I did have quite a bit of leftovers since my three absent guests were the big potatoe eaters in the group. Oh well. I brought some leftovers to my coworker and she enjoyed them. I will definitely be adding this recipe to my holiday/big event dinner menus for future use. The fact that they're "make ahead" makes them a fabulous side dish!
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