All set for our Thanksgiving meal and while I'm pleased to
have finally been ahead of the game this year with my planning
and prepping, one side effect to this is resisting all of the
great recipe ideas still flooding in on the Food Network,
Pinterest (oh the pictures!) and my magazines! I just want to
try them all but have to draw the line. Maybe we'll get creative
with our leftovers or have a friends-giving in January ;o)

One of my favorite dishes has to be the potatoes and ever
since I was a kid the skins of the baked potato were my
favorite part too. I think I originally discovered smashed
potatoes many years way back in the day from "Mr. Food".
These are along the lines of the mashed red ones but chunkier
and the have the skins mixed in...very hearty I would say.
I think even those people that like the smooth and creamy
potatoes will go for this because of the great flavor.
(Go ahead and peel them first if you absolutely must and use
a ricer to please the smooth-only fans the flavor is still
worth it.)

I've had a few different variations of these and actually
made loads of this particular one RED SMASHED POTATOES for
holiday entertaining last year but with a twist. I made
them the night before and put them in a casserole dish.
The day of the party I let them sit out to get to room
temperature and just popped them into the oven for about
1/2 hour at 350 degrees just to reheat. Worked out great
and that's a great party tip for any time of year.

Enjoy!

Marzee
Email Me



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RECIPE: RED SMASHED POTATOES

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INGREDIENTS:
3 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled
1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/4 pound butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Place the potatoes and 1 tablespoon of salt in a 4-quart
saucepan with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, lower
the heat, and simmer covered for 25 to 35 minutes, until
the potatoes are completely tender. Drain. In a small
saucepan, heat the half-and-half and butter. Put the
potatoes into a large bowl and mix them for a few seconds
on low speed with a hand mixer to break them up. Slowly
add 3/4 of the hot cream and butter to the potatoes, mixing
on the lowest speed (the last quarter of the cream and
butter should be folded in by hand). Fold in the sour cream
and remaining salt and pepper. Serve immediately. If the
potatoes are too thick, add more hot cream and butter.

Serves 6 to 8
Category: Side Dishes, Potatoes




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TIPS TO COOK THAT TURKEY GOOD!

When cooking a turkey, use a meat thermometer. Even if
you use a "pop-up" thermometer, it's a good idea to check
the temperature with a conventional meat thermometer. If
you don't have one, pick one up at the grocery store as
you're searching for the holiday items. Set the oven no
lower than 325 F and cook the turkey to 180 F in the inner
thigh. The juices should run clear. Here are approximate
cooking times for turkey, but use a meat thermometer to
verify doneness:

*** COOKING TIME ***
Weight (pounds) Unstuffed/hrs Stuffed/hrs
8 to 12............2 3/4 to 3.........3 to 3 1/2
12 to 14...........3 to 3 3/4.........3 1/2 to 4
14 to 18...........3 3/4 to 4 1/4.....4 to 4 1/4
18 to 20...........4 1/4 to 4 1/2.....4 1/4 to 4 3/4
20 to 24...........4 1/2 to 5.........4 3/4 to 5 1/4

(courtesy of the USDA)