Parmesan Smashed Potatoes

So why another potato recipe so soon? Well, I actually wasn't planning it, but then Joel and I got inspired by recent Food Network programming and decided to hold our own mini-Thanksgiving for two. I cooked some turkey cutlets with pan gravy, baked up some cornbread, sauteed some green beans and opened that old can of cranberry jelly stuff. Since we were having turkey, I thought it would be appropriate to do mashed potatoes, and the Barefoot Contessa has a few great recipes for mashed potatoes.

First we start off with the ingredients:


I will warn you right now. There is a lot of FAT in these smashed potatoes. I'm not even going to try to cover it up. I think the potatoes will turn out tasty because of the fat, but personally, I think it's excessive. Butter, half and half, and sour cream. That's a lot yo'.

Boil them 'taters. I'm kind of obsessive, I take off all the blemishes and imperfections off of the potato. I know I can leave some of them on, but... anyway, those are the little gouges in the potatoes you see.


While the potatoes simmer away, I'll melt the butter and mix it with the half and half. God. I never have half and half in my house. I don't use it in my coffee. I don't know how else I'm going to use the rest of the carton up.


Shhh. the recipe says to heat it on the stove, but I heated the mix in the microwave.

Here we go! Smashing the potatoes are quite satisfying. It makes you feel like you are truly putting effort into your food instead of just throwing something together to eat. I hear kneading bread dough is similarly cathartic. Here, you can see that the potatoes are pretty dry. I've only added in a little bit of the butter mixture. It should get creamier as I add more fat.


A little while later, the potatoes are smashed sufficiently and are nice mixture of fluffy/creamy. I don't like super fine pureed potatoes and enjoy them when they have a bit of texture. Anyway, now I'm ready to fold in the sour cream and Parmesan cheese. Seriously, I don't think you can make these potatoes any richer. And, I love calorie-laden carbohydrates.


Parmesan smashed potatoes. You can catch a glimpse of the rest of the meal in the background.


The review

The smashed potatoes are excellent. I didn't have a doubt they would be since the ingredients and preparation were very simple. They have a nice smooth texture without being gluey. The use of red potatoes works well. I like the difference that the peels make in the final product. However, as I mentioned above: THIS IS A RICH DISH. I don't think that the use of the three different fats were needed. Basic mashed potatoes contain butter and milk. Sometimes I substitute sour cream instead of the milk. I've never put all three into mashed potatoes before, let alone half and half and a large dose of cheese. This recipe could be significantly lightened with minimal taste discrepancies. Save this one for a special occasion or party.

The recipe makes 6 servings. I used the leftovers to make Shepherd's pie the next night. Potatoes were still quite tasty and didn't become grainy or lumpy overnight.