Monday, November 12, 2007

Thanksgiving Tried & True #1 -- Mashed Potatoes


With Thanksgiving coming soon, I thought that for the next few days I would post some of the recipes I use every Thanksgiving. Mashed potatoes are standard with turkey and gravy, and yet they must be made at the last minute and it is difficult to keep them warm for a large group.

My solution for the past 8 or 10 years has been this recipe for Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes. You can make this even now and freeze it, or you can make it early next week and refrigerate it. We love this recipe!


MAKE-AHEAD MASHED POTATOES

8 medium to large potatoes, peeled and cut up
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. onion powder
Salt to taste
Paprika
Parsley flakes

In large saucepan or dutch oven, combine potatoes and enough water to nearly cover them. Bring to boil; reduce heat, and cook, covered, 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain. Mash the potatoes, gradually adding cream cheese, sour cream, salt, and onion powder. Beat with electric mixer (or by hand if you prefer) until fluffy. Spoon into a greased 3-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley.

Cover and refrigerate † overnight. *

One hour before serving, remove potatoes from refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350º. Bake potatoes uncovered for 45 to 60 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

* Potatoes can be baked immediately if you prefer to eat them the same day. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

† If you prefer to freeze them ahead, take them out of the freezer the night before and place them in the refrigerator.

This recipe is a must for Thanksgiving and other gatherings when large amounts of people will be eating mashed potatoes. For our Thanksgivings when we have 20+ people, I usually double this or make 1 1/2 times the recipe.

5 comments:

  1. I have a very similar recipe to this one called Twice Baked Potato Casserole; it's delicious! I am all for dishes that can be made ahead to ease the stress of those big holiday meals!

    Thanks for sharing all of your yummy recipes, Mrs. T! I'm looking forward to seeing the others :~)

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  2. I am doing as much as I can ahead of time and this will fit into my plans really well. I LOVE mashed potatoes and these sound fantastic. Thanks for posting so many yummy recipes:).

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  3. Hi Arlene!

    So nice to see you here at the kitchen table!

    Your potato recipe sounds wonderful also. Will you be cooking Thanksgiving dinner?

    Have a blessed week!

    God bless,
    Mrs.T

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  4. And Rachel!

    It's nice to see you here too! Do you have family joining you for the holiday?

    I thought of you on our train trip to the south. You will never guess what they served in the cafe car... Green Mountain Coffee! Amtrak has good taste in coffee.

    Have a great rest of the week!

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  5. Hi Mrs. T,

    Michael's two brothers and sister-in-law will be coming for Thanksgiving. My in-laws had already made plans to go to the Caymans with friends before we asked them to come down.

    I am looking forward to spending time with the gang. I am making LOTS of food because these guys can EAT!! I am doing anything that I can ahead of time because I want to enjoy my company.

    How funny that Amtrak served Green Mountain Coffee. I've never found any other coffee that is quite as good. We even ordered the Gevalia coffee for awhile but still were drawn back to Green Mountain.

    I found Cabot butter at the Wal-Mart here the other day!! Granted, they only had the salted kind and I prefer to buy the unsalted but it brought a smile to my face. Happy Wednesday:).

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