Cold German potato salad is a thing?
Huh.
ETA Dang. Ninja’d by terentii. Well, If I had to choose someone to be ninja’d by, he’s the one.
Thanks for that. I’ve never heard of that before, so I’m going to make them. If my kids don’t like it, I’m blaming you. 
Glad you brought that up, Doc; it’s a topic that I’ve been contemplating for a few weeks since I’ve been reintroducing homemade mashed potatoes to the family dinner table. Back when I was a tyke, there was a commercial for Betty Crocker Mashed Potato Buds[sup]TM[/sup] on the teevee set. I still recall the opening narration:
“The good cook mashes and mashes her potatoes. The Great cook rices her potatoes. The SMART cook uses Betty Crocker Mashed Potato Buds![sup]TM[/sup]”
I guess Mashed Potato Buds[sup]TM[/sup] were supposed to reproduce the texture of riced mashed potatoes better than potato flakes.
Knowing that the SDMB conventional wisdom is to eschew single-use kitchen utensils (and having severely limited utensil storage space chez -99), I have to ask if there is another device that I could use to rice potatoes before I mash them. I have already tried grating the potatoes in the Cuisinart both before and after cooking (it didn’t work at ALL). The closest I have been able to come is to mash them into a hot damp powder BEFORE adding the fat and dairy and proceeding with the official mashing process.
Got any suggestions?
Well, I guess if you have enough time and patience a garlic press may do the job.
To borrow a line from Johnny Carson, I’m flattered to death! 
:o
Seriously, though: I do know that some chefs use a spatula or large spoon to force mash through a sieve/strainer in order to get all the lumps out, so that’s definitely an alternative to using a ricer.
That’s fine, I have shoulders like a brook trout; everything just slides right off. 
FWIW, do I get the credit when they’re fighting to lick the bowl clean?
Buy the ricer and then use it to also make homemade spatzle as well. Dual use that way.
That’s how I do them about half the time. The other half, I’ll peel and mash, the only addition being some salt and a bit of butter. No cream, no cheese, unless I’m trying to fancy it up. Mashed with a hand masher (though I do have a ricer.) These potatoes are firm but still fluffy and have plenty of texture. I don’t understand the need to cheese-up potatoes. If I’m feeling fancy, what I may do is add a dollop of sour cream and some horseradish, but I don’t like potatoes that have a pureed texture, so I almost never add any dairy like heavy cream or milk. The potatoes really don’t need it. I kind of want them to be a neutral starch, and any additional flavoring comes from the meat and/or gravy I serve them with.
I eat my peas with honey
I’ve done it all my life
It makes the peas taste funny
But it keeps them on my knife!
Well, if you’re making your mashed potatoes and leaving them lumpy, and you still don’t like them…
It’s just something you don’t like.
Why, in the name of all that’s holey*, are we required to like and dislike the same things? I heard a rant on a university radio station about how lemon was the “worst” flavor. Hey, I’m not a huge lemon fan, but neither you, I, or Alpha Twit are the be-all and end-all of what tastes good and what doesn’t.
It’s not even an opinion. It’s what you like or don’t like. It may be because you don’t like the texture, or it may have a flavor you don’t like, or it may be because your mother fed it to you every Friday during lent. But we shouldn’t have to defend our tastes, and if you feel like you need everyone else to agree with your tastes, you need therapy, not argument.
*typo, but I liked it so I left it in.
Sorry, but I will have to give credit to “Awesome ideas Dad has, 'cause he’s an awesome dad!”
I just got reminded of twice baked potatoes.
A very odd side dish. You scoop out the middle of a baked potato, mash with sour cream, add onion, salt, pepper and put back in the shell. Bake a few minutes to Melt cheddar over it.
Never quite understood the point of this dish. It’s ok but seems like a lot of trouble.
Creamy smooth innards with cheesy goodness and crispy baked potato skins; what’s not to love?
I understood that reference.
Anyway, kids love mashed potatoes, and older people with bad/missing teeth might find them easier to consume than other potato forms.
Around here, restaurants served mashed potatoes with the peel on, calling them “smashed potatoes.”
Yes, it’s the new fancy-schmancy way TV chefs are glamorising basic good food. It’s fun - next time you do roast spuds with a cut of meat (whatever is your choice), just give the spuds a gently squish with the potato masher when they come out of the oven - flatten them a bit and split them open. You get mashed potatoes with roast potato skin.
And as everyone knows, there are 5 fundamental forces of nature - the strongest being the force that attracts gravy to mashed/smashed potatoes.
We need a thread on gravy and gravies - my specialty being the Brown Onion (family secret, but I could be persuaded to share it with like-minded addicts).
Because it is the internet. Rule #1 is that if you like the same things I do you are a great person… if you don’t you suck.
I think a potato in any form is wonderful! But, if you truly want a great mashed potato do it with a mixer to make sure they are mashed without lumps. I always use heavy whipping cream as well as real butter (my dear husband was from Wisconsin and wouldn’t have it any other way!) until they are JUST right. Then, in true decadent style, you must melt yet more butter on top. But to each his own.
You’ve obviously never had pierogis.
Make them with cheese, butter, even onions…droooling. Then they’re not so bland.
(My cat adores mashed potatos)