3 yummy mashed potato tricks

Creamy mashed potatoes

I have always loved mashed potatoes.  They are one of my favorite comfort foods and something I often make here in Germany.  The ingredients are easy to find (unlike baking ingredients) and the boyfriend has become a big fan.  I have a couple of really simple tricks for super delicious mashed potatoes if you are looking for a way to improve your Thanksgiving standby:

1)  Do not for a second think about calories or fat.  If you are going to make mashed potatoes, make them right.  Even thinking about a non or low-fat version is an injustice to this beautiful creation. There is no point in eating them if they aren't swimming in butter, cream, milk, mayonnaise (see tip 2 below) and other deliciousness.  So, don't make them too often and when you do make them, pile all the good stuff in there.

2) Keeping tip 1 in mind,  use a little mayonnaise in your mashed potatoes.  Yes, I said mayonnaise.  I know this sounds weird and gross but it is the trick to super creamy and just slightly tangy spuds.  Be careful, because you don't want your potatoes to actually taste like mayonnaise.  Add a little at a time, always err on the side of caution and be sure to taste.  When you taste a slight tang but no "mayonnaisey" flavor, stop.  Don't tell anyone what's in them, especially not anyone who hates mayonnaise or anyone who failed to heed tip 1 above.

3) Caramelized onions.  This is my favorite trick for adding a little extra flavor to my mashed potatoes.  As I got older I found that they tasted more and more bland.  Then one day, I caramelized some onions and mixed them into finished mashed potatoes and I pretty much fell in love.  Since then, I have added caramelized onions into every batch of mashed potatoes I have made and they have always been a big hit.  I add just enough so that you get one to two onions in every bite.  Yum!
(Note, this probably won't be a hit in a household with picky children.  I know it wouldn't have worked in my house when I was younger.)

Mashed potatoes with caramelized onions (and fried chicken).  :-)

So put your cardiologist on speed dial, and enjoy Thanksgiving for once.  You spend the whole year trying to treat yourself right.  Doesn't it feel good to be bad once and a while?