Not health food by any means, but sheer awesomely rich starchy goodness:
These mashed potatoes can be made ahead and reheated. Feel free to substitute lower-fat dairy products. Makes 6-8 servings.
9 large baking potatoes, peeled and diced
1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3⁄4 cup sour cream
1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Place the diced potatoes in a large saucepan and add water to cover. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer over medium heat until tender; drain. Place the potatoes in a mixer bowl. Cut the butter and cream cheese into small pieces and add to the potatoes. Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the sour cream. Season with the nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or reheat in a buttered casserole at 300 degrees for 20 minutes.
I make the potatoes - butter - cream cheese combination all the time, with occasional sour cream on top when I have it around. Haven’t tried the nutmeg on regular potatoes, just on yams. Will try. I could eat potatoes every day!
I find cooking the potatoes skin on and then running them through a ricer has better results - the potatoes absorb less of the cooking water. The ricer removes the skins though occasionally we just mash them with a classic masher because we want the skins on.
Just a couple hours ago I was explaining mashed potatoes to a Balinese friend… half a stick of butter… milk… Got stuck on the sour cream part which isn’t common here although you can get it in the foreign food section. “And after, you fry?” because there’s a kind of croquette called a perkedel which is potato and spices deep fried. I said, no fry, and she looked a bit dubious.
You almost got it perfect, but you forgot to mention to melt medium cheddar cheese on top just before serving!
This dish (with the melted cheese) is a Thanksgiving staple in our family, known officially as “Mashed potato casserole”, but colloquially as “Bind-you-up potatoes”. Doesn’t matter, though, they’re worth it.
The leftovers also make incredible potato pancakes.
This has been my go-to recipe for over 20 years. I use an 8-oz container of sour cream and add snipped chives. I run the potatoes through a ricer, which keeps them a little less gummy. I used to use the mixer all the time, though.
It’s a great recipe, because you can make it ahead of time in a casserole dish.
In my part of the USA, a company called Silver Palate markets a steel-cut oatmeal (which is great, assuming you like oatmeal), but not anything to do with potatoes.
The Silver Palate was a NY shop/restaurant, and the owners went on the become accomplished cookbook authors. They also marketed some food products, which is why you’ve seen their oatmeal.
