My favorite hobby is cooking. Ironically, the food many cooks have the most difficulty with is the potato. Potatoes can be devilish little buggers, but when you get to know them and learn their tricks, they become your most delicious friends.
First, I must give credit to my mom and grandmother who worked with me as a small child, through all my kitchen messes, and taught me their cooking secrets.
I'm not a scientist, didn't even play one on TV, but I know potatoes contain lots of starch. Starch can really do a nasty tap-dance on your finest recipes if you aren't careful.
I use three varieties of potatoes:
Russets, or those that have a mealy texture, contain the most starch and least moisture. I like to bake these or mash them.
Yukon Gold is an example of a medium-starch potato. It has a buttery appearance and texture and contains more moisture. Great for mashing, or potato salad.
Reds, have more moisture and less starch. They are good in potato salad, but absolute super-stars all crisped up in the roaster. New small reds boiled with spring onions and fresh garden peas are out of this world, too.
The two biggest mistakes I see with potatoes are:
First, lumpy, gooey mashed potatoes.
Second, mushy potato salad.
By following a few simple rules that I learned as a teenager you can avoid both problems.
MASHED POTATO TRICKS
Wash skin well and remove eyes, but leave skin on for dirty mashed potatoes. Peel for smooth, fluffy white variety. Cut potatoes in equal-sized cubes, about two-inches square. What we are after is a dry, fluffy texture (dirty potatoes will have peeling lumps).
TIP: Start your potatoes in cold chicken broth. This is not a quickie meal. It takes time.
TIP: Chicken broth is expensive, so I use one chicken bullion cube for each cup and one-half of water. This imparts nice flavor. Do not add salt.
When potatoes are done but firm. Pour off cooking liquid and save broth. If you are having a meat dish, mix broth with drippings for lucious gravy. Do not let potatoes cool. NEVER rinse potatoes in cold water. (That is a death sentence). Urgent: potatoes must stay warm.
TIP: For even fluffier spuds, pour off all broth, turn burner on very low, put potatoes into large pot, put a clean towel directly in the pot, replace lid. Let potatoes stand for five to ten minutes on low heat. Steam will be absorbed by the towel. Everything is still hot and dry.
Now comes the fun part. Mash or rice potatoes quickly, adding butter as you go. I like to use a ricer first then an electric mixer. Just do it fast, before potatoes cool.
TIP: Use lots of butter. You don't make mashed potatoes that often so live a little. I use at least one tablespoon for each potato. Salt to taste. Beat until butter melts and blends in. Then add milk or cream that has been heated but not boiled. DO NOT ADD ANYTHING COLD TO THE POTATOES AT ANY TIME.
Beat the steaming milk or cream into the mixture until smooth and fluffy. Add only enough WARM MILK to make the mixture smooth. Do not beat too long. When the potato mixture is soft, moist and fluffy, but holds its shape and stands up like soft ice cream in a cone, you are done.
Serve immediately.
POTATO SALAD TRICKS
I will assume you all have your own favorite potato salad recipe, so I won't provide ingredients. I'm more concerned in this article with solving mechanical problems that occur when working with those cantankerous things called potatoes. The best recipe in the world is not good with a mushy product.
This potato problem is easier to solve. Mushy potato salad can be avoided by simply taking potatoes off the stove while they are still firm. Drain and let cool.
For potato salad, I boil small to medium sized potatoes whole and then peel them as soon as they are cool. You also can leave the skins on.
TIP: Try cutting potatoes in egg-sized pieces, then putting them in your egg slicer when cool enough to handle. It makes perfect slices, and peels the potatoes at the same time. Don't overcook potatoes or this won't work. Slice, season and hold in fridge. You can always go back later and touch-up the seasoning.
TIP: Leftover baked potatoes make great potato salad; just cut in three-quarter-inch pieces, and proceed. Or you can fresh-bake potatoes, peel, cut, add your goodies and cool in fridge overnight to blend flavors.
TIP: Grandmother always mixed potatoes, using half russets and half reds or golds. This is good stuff, but takes more messing around. The russets absorb more of the flavors, and the moist potatoes give a different texture.
TIP: When cooling your slightly undercooked potatoes for your salad, spread them on a clean towel and splash or spray on a tiny bit of white vinegar to prevent the spuds from turning dark. Then season while still warm.
TIP: It is wise to season your potatoes after they are peeled and before they cool. If you wait until they cool, a starch skin forms on the outside of the potato, and seasoning can't penetrate so well.
TIP: Use large plastic spatula when you mix seasoning and other ingredients in your potatoes. This allows you to get under the mixture and lift it as you stir. Using a spoon damages the potatoes.
TIP: Use potatoes that are all the same size for uniform cooking. Remember they will cook a bit longer even after you take them off the heat. The important thing is do not over-cook potatoes for salad.
Give me some comments on your cooking secrets. By the way, yes, I did box, wrestle and play football in high school, the Army and in college, so I am not a girlie-man. I can't help it; I love to cook. And I love poetry, too. So sue me. (Read "Big Boys Don't Kiss Their Mothers" on this website for details about my youthful battle with poetry and manhood.)
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