I tried, once upon a time, to read this classic of mid-century literature and eventually discarded it, thinking, “You know what? These guys are jerks.” And you know what came through loud and clear in the film version? You guessed it: these guys are jerks.*
Cost: $4.00
Where watched: Laurelhurst, with S. North.
*This book/movie is navel-gazing male literature/cinema at its finest. Which for me means “most boring.” Although there were fun period details and the cameos were interesting.
Boil three pounds of skin-on potatoes (of similar size, if possible) in salted water until they are soft. I check to see if they are soft by fishing out a larger candidate with a spoon, and poking it with a toothpick. If the toothpick goes all the way through, they are done.
Drain the potatoes in a colander. Put your potato boiling pot on the counter and get out your ricer.
An aside: I used to always roll my eyes at mashed potato recipe instructions including references to using a ricer. I had a potato masher, and why should I spend 20-plus dollars on a rather large kitchen gadget that only did one thing? Then I made a few batches of for-public consumption mashed potatoes that had bits of unmashed potatoes in them. And the next thing I knew I was forking over $20-plus dollars for a rather large kitchen gadget that only does one thing. And let me tell you, that was money well spent.
That said, if you cook your potatoes well and mash enthusiastically, you will be fine.
To peel the still-hot potatoes, take a fork, stab a potato and use your paring knife to slip off the peel. Throw the naked potatoes in the ricer, and press, or throw them in the pot, ready for mashing.
To sum up:
3 lbs potatoes, boiled, peeled and riced/mashed
1/2 cup butter melted and mashed in
1/2 cup to 1 cup cream, mashed in
Salt.
Mmmmmmmmmmm.