Mashed Potatoes?

Tonight, I made the best mashed potatoes I've ever made. And there is no real recipe.

As I said to Dorothy, who was raving - you'll never have these again.

What did I do? How can I get close again?

I started with 3 red skinned potatoes (Red Lasoda, from Olsen Farms), which I peeled. Each was about the size of a baseball.

I cut them into quarters, put them in a pot with water to cover by about an inch, and added about a tablespoon of kosher salt.

Then I simmered them until they were done (a knife inserted into the thickest part met no resistance and did not pull the potato back out of the water when removed).

I drained them into a colander. And let them cool for a while.

After some time, and I mean, enough time so I could pick up the potato quarters without burning my hands but they were still warm, I put the quarters through a ricer.

This is the first time I've used the ricer. I bought it several years ago as a birthday gift to Dorothy, but as it is a "unitasker" it was hidden in the kitchen and not out where we see it every day.

But, a hanging rack holding all our pans and a few other items had a few spots left over, and there went the ricer. Still unused for several years. Until tonight.

I placed a couple of quarters in the ricer, and pressed. What gorgeous potato shreds! Another load. Again, beautiful. I processed all the potatoes, and had a bowl full of beautiful potato shreds.

I use the term "shreds" because I don't want to use the term "Potato worms." But, in essence, if potatoes made pasta, there is a bowl of potato spaghetti, but it won't hold it's shape like pasta - it's mashed potato in spaghetti form.

So I mix in about a half cup of buttermilk, and then about a half cup of cream, and about a half stick of butter. And mix, and mix. Oh, I need to put this back over heat because the buttermilk, cream, and butter, are cold. OK, over the heat it goes. And the butter melts, and the potatoes become glossy…

And that's the dish. Salt and pepper were added, then tasted, and more seasoning added before serving. Oh, and for the photo, finely chopped Brussels sprouts and a sprinkle of red pepper.

Always taste, and correct your seasoning. It was so good.