How to Make Perfect Mashed Potatoes

The secret to making perfect mashed potatoes that are creamy and fluffy without being gooey or gluey is to warm the cream and/or milk and butter before adding them to the potatoes and to not over-beat the mixture. For this reason, I don't use an electric mixer. I used an old fashioned potato masher such as pictured here:

This recipe calls for 2 tbsp heavy cream mixed with 2 tbsp milk, but you can substitute 1/4 cup half and half, which is essentially the same thing (1 part cream to 1 part milk).

But this is the important thing, and I reiterate: NEVER add cold milk, cream, or butter to your hot potatoes. That's a recipe for disaster.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb peeled potatoes
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp salt
Additional salt & fresh ground black pepper (to taste)

Directions:

Quarter the potatoes length-wise and put them in a pot. Cover with water. Add the 1/2 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cover. Cook 15-20 minutes or until soft.

Warm the cream and milk (or half and half) and butter in a saucepan. DO NOT BOIL. Keep the fire low and heat only until the butter melts.

Meanwhile, drain the potatoes and put them into a large bowl.

Add the warm cream/milk and melted butter mixture to the potatoes and mash with a potato masher.

Then use a sturdy spoon to beat further until fluffed and creamy. Again, don't over-beat. If you've cooked your potatoes enough, there should be no lumps.

Add salt & pepper to your taste.

Beer Battered Mushrooms Recipe

If there's anything Hobbits love more than anything (other than ale and pipeweed) it's mushrooms. So in honour of The Desolation of Smaug, which debuts in just eight days, here's a simple recipe that's sure to make any Hobbit happy!

Again, as with my Beer Battered Fish & Chips recipe, you can do this in a pot as described. But you're almost sure to get better results with a deep fryer.

Ingredients:

2 cups of my Beer Batter
4 - 6 cups cooking oil, depending on size of pot used & of the mushrooms themselves
1 - 2 lbs whole fresh mushrooms, washed & dried
Prepared horseradish (optional)


Directions:

Pour enough oil into the pot to cover the mushrooms.

Heat to around 375 degrees F.

Dip mushrooms into batter, coating well.

Fry mushrooms in hot oil in batches until golden brown and slightly crispy.

Place fried mushrooms in bowl lined with paper towels to drain off excess oil.

Optional: Serve with horseradish sauce.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme Stuffing (with Turkey Liver)

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme: four awesome herbs that go so well together, they inspired a song: Scarborough Fair! I'm sure you've heard the Simon & Garfunkel version, but did you know that it was their adaptation of an old folk ballad from Yorkshire, England?

"The song relates the tale of a young man who instructs the listener to tell his former love to perform for him a series of impossible tasks, such as making him a shirt without a seam and then washing it in a dry well, adding that if she completes these tasks he will take her back. Often the song is sung as a duet, with the woman then giving her lover a series of equally impossible tasks, promising to give him his seamless shirt once he has finished." ~Wikipedia article

Here's my current favourite version of this song. An excellent, moving performance, well worth a watch:


And now on to the recipe! If you've followed the directions for my mother's roast turkey, then you've already set aside the turkey liver to use to make your stuffing. If not, you can substitute a couple of chicken livers or just leave out the liver altogether.

Like I said in that earlier post, I don't stuff my bird. But if you're going to do that, I suggest you follow the instructions given here.

Ingredients:

1 loaf French bread, cubed
1 stick butter
3 slices bacon, chopped
1 turkey liver, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 scallions, sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
12 fl. oz chicken or turkey stock
12 fl. oz vegetable stock
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Melt butter in pan over medium heat.

Add bacon and cook until crisp.

Add onion, liver, and celery and cook until onions and celery are tender, stirring occasionally.

Add the scallions and the stock.

Cook for about five minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the cubed bread, herbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Add the contents of the pan to the mixing bowl and stir.

Fill turkey cavity loosely with stuffing before roasting, or bake stuffing separately in a casserole dish.

Beer Battered Fish and Chips Recipe

Let's put that Beer Batter to good use, shall we?

This is one of my favourite dishes, which no pub worthy of the name would be caught dead without. I strongly recommend using a deep fryer for this, but you can still get pretty decent results with a quart of oil in a large pot as described below (although results may vary).

Enjoy!

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

Four large potatoes
2 cups of my Beer Batter
2 lbs cod fillets

Directions:

Cut the potatoes into strips (not too thin though; think steak fries, not French fries). These be your chips. You can peel the taters first, but I like the skins on 'em.

Preheat the oil in the pot (or fryer). Get it nice and hot, but don't overdo it. If your smoke alarm goes off, you've gone too far.

Fry the chips until they're soft and golden. Then if you want you can drain them on paper towels to get rid of some of the grease.

Dredge the pieces of cod one at a time in the batter until they're coated evenly. Then place them in the hot oil and fry until they're golden brown. You can drain these on paper towels afterwards as well, if you feel so inclined.

At this point in time you can also put the chips back into the oil and fry them a bit longer until they reach your desired crispness. 

Serve with tartar sauce, lemon wedges, ketchup and/or malt vinegar.

Simple Beer Batter Recipe

This can be used for Beer Battered Fish and Chips, Onion Rings, Jalapeño Poppers, etc. You can also easily make a gluten-free version by substituting gluten-free all-purpose flour, and of course, gluten-free beer (my favourite is Bard's).

You don't even need any special equipment, just a bowl and a measuring cup.

A whisk would also be handy, but I just use a fork.

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup beer

Directions:

In a small mixing bowl add flour, egg, garlic powder, and black pepper. Stir in 1 cup beer.