Christmas Dinner without Garlic Mashed Potatoes?!

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Oh boy-you guys are making me hungry-sounds so good be the recipe is to much for me.Most of the time I am making mashed spuds for myself-two spuds are good for me-use white baking potatoes-what I have used over the years.I use my plate type hand masher-then whip them with a hand mixer.Or I may use a ricer I bought at one of the yard sales.I still whip them with the mixer after crushing the potatoes in the ricer.Everyone has their favorite ways of fixing mashed spuds!Was taught by by Mom.I use other flavorings besides garlic-the real garlic sounds so good!And of course healthier!
 
No Garlic Mashed Potatoes? Not here either!

For the past several years, Arlee and I have gone to a good friend's house for Christmas dinner. One of the things I have always brought was Garlic Mashed Potatoes. It finally dawned on me last year that the hostess never ate any potatoes. I asked her this year if she didn't like them and she said what she did not like was the garlic.

Oh dear.

Well, I had a good idea. First, I made Southern-style "Creamed Potaotes" (whipped with butter and heavy cream).

Note: I wrap my potatoes in foil and bake them in the oven. Much prefer that to boiling them (and I am afraid of the pressure cooker). Wrapping them keeps them moist and the same texture as boiling but they are much more flavorful. Note, I do not peel the potatoes! The skin is good for you - fiber and bulk - and adds a nice flavor and texture. I do vigorously scrub the potatoes with a vegetable brush.

While the potatoes were baking, I also roasted FOUR heads of garlic in olive oil, salt and paprika. When they were done, I puréed them in the blender, adding more olive oil until a creamy, thick texture was obtained.

At the party, I served the mashed potatoes with the roasted garlic sauce. Ahhh, 'twas heavenly!! Much lip-smacking and ohhh-ahhhing from the other guests. And hostess was also happy to have some potatoes this year!

Here are a few photos. First is a bowl-full of garlic cloves ready for peeling.

12-26-2007-01-20-54--maggie~hamilton.jpg
 
And the results! this photo is deceiving from the angle -- the bowl is deeper than it appears, and the pile of potatoes is higher--

12-26-2007-03-18-47--maggie~hamilton.jpg
 
Where do you find the nylon scrubbing dishcloth? Haven't seen one of those around here and that would be great for scrubbing potatoes and other root vegetables.
And roasting the garlic is a great idea - tames the flavor nicely.
 
Kitcheaide is producing (or brnading) kitchen dish towels and stuff now. I picked up a dishcloth that was ribbed cotton on one side and a mesh scrubber on the other. Not sure if I like it, but I'll give it a try.
 
Joe and Maggie-Hamilton

If I ever come to California I'm going to invite myself to your homes for cooking tips. I've really enjoyed the cooking pointers I've learned form everyone in this forum. Happy Holidays!
 
I moved out of my parents' home when I was 19 - ever the independent spirit. I quickly learned it was a matter of either learning to cook or starving. Fast-food really was not an option because back then (1975) there was not a fast-food joint on every corner like there is now. There were, like, three in the area - MickeyDees of course, KFC and, hm, another burger joint - what was it? Not Burger King, it was, hmmmmmmmmm... oh darn, there's another bad sector on my hard drive. They were famous for their char-broiled burgers.

AAAANY-waaay, I basically taught myself to cook with lots of tips and guidance from Mama who was a great down-home Southern cook. I bought "The Joy of Cooking" when it first came out and it was like a Bible to me. For anyone wanting to begin venturing into "real" cooking, that's a great place to start -- you really will learn all the basics.

I also love those "Church Lady" cookbooks that many Women's Sewing Circles etc. used to publish to raise money for new altar linens, new choir robes, or a new vacuum cleaner! Those old-time cookbooks contain lots of "simpler-time" recipes and meals. I have 2-3 dozen of them I guess.
 
I too learned to cook in order to eat well on a budget, lots of help from mom but lots of trial and error. I'm a pretty good cook but I'm always looking to learn new things.

I just bought a cool southern cook book titled:

"Deep South Staples, Or How To Survive In A Southern Kitchen Without A Can Of Cream Of Mushroom Soup" by Robert St. John.

This book is neat because the author starts each section with stories about his youth and experiences in the South, all food related.

The graphics are also very 50s/60s space age - star bursts and "boomerangs" abound and the author uses a lot of old black and white photos from the 50s and 60s: from advertisements, appliance manuals, other cookbooks, etc.
 
Thanks for the cookbook tip; sounds right up my alley! I'll have to check it out.

btw the other fast-food place I was trying to think of was HARDEES. They actually had pretty decent burgers -- far better than McDs because they were charbroiled. On a real charcoal grill, instead of being "flame broiled" (*) and sprayed with artificial charcoal flavor.

-------
(*) I think "flame broiled" falls in the same meaningless category as "pure squeezed" orange juice.......
 
I got my first Joy of Cooking book decades ago but didn't really read it because it was just too "bookish". Went for more of the glossy picture types and Better Homes & Gardens sets etc which are all ok I guess. But when it came time to really get into how to make something from scratch that's where I began to really appreciate that book, all the detail, what goes with what etc. I'd keep it over anything now.
 
When I was really really young I loved Hardees. They closed up years and years ago, but when I moved to Port Arthur there was still one open a few miles away in Nederland. Alas, They closed before I was able to go there.
 
~Thanks for the cookbook tip; sounds right up my alley! I'll have to check it out.

As a substitute, the author came up with a homemade cream of mushroom recipe that sounds great - I have yet to try it.
 
I made mashed potatoes on Christmas Day (on my Mom's new KitchenAid!) and was amazed by how easy the mixer made it. I dumped the cooked potatoes in the mixer, turned it on, and whammo! All I had to do was add some warm cream, butter and garlic.

Previously, I used the ricer THEN the mixer. It was quite Nixonian of me (he used to love to help his mother make mashed potatoes and was quite anal-retentive about getting the lumps out) but I am sold on the KA for this now.
 
Hey 58

Port Arthur, eh? Home to one of my favorite singers, Janis Joplin. Her family home was over on Lombardy St. Initially, the Joplins lived on Proctor St. Not much I don't know about this colorful lady.

Robb :-)
 
rexaircollector

My boss and my neighbor's kids went to school with Janis. She hated Port Arthur, and the uptight residents of the time didn't care for her either. Now, they have a large part of the local museum dedicated to her, they even have her psychadelic painted Karman Ghia (I think thats what it is, actually I'm not even sure its the original car or a reproduction). You can even buy a brick from the old family home.

The museum has an entire wing dedicated to local legends from all of Southeast Texas. This has been a very fertile area for sports heros, singers and musicians, and even actors/actresses. George Jones, the Big Bopper, the Winters brothers, Janis, Tracy Byrd, Mark Chesnutt, and more recently the late rapper PimpC, came from this region.
 

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