Smashed taters

Tonight, I made a "typical American" dinner. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, and peas. The meatloaf recipe came from Cooks Illustrated's Best Recipe cookbook. I made it for the old folks - and the Phenom liked it (shocking). But, I thought I'd share the secret to mashed tater's and gravy.

First - peel and dice (large pieces) the potatoes. I like yukon golds. You don't want to use baking type potatoes. One secret is to generously salt the water you cook the tater's in --- it is really the only way to make sure the end product is adequately salted. Boil the taters until a knife slips in easily. Drain - return tater's to pot they were cooked in. This allows the excess water on the potatoes to steam off and keeps them warm longer. Just before you drain them, put a couple good chunks of butter (3-4 tbls) and about 3/4 cup milk in a microwave safe measuring cup (pyrex type) and heat until the butter is melted. Having the liquids warm makes for better potatoes. Smash taters with a potato masher -- then add about half the butter/milk mixture and mix with a hand mixer on low speed. Add butter/milk mixture until the potatoes are light and fluffy. (I also like to grind in a bit of black pepper before smashing).

Gravy is easy easy easy. This technique works with beef and chicken. Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a pan over med. heat-- when the butter is bubbly, add 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning and 2 tbls plain flour. Whisk and allow the flour to cook a couple of minutes. If you don't let it cook, you'll have a raw flour taste/grainyness to the finished gravy. Then, add in either canned beef or chicken broth (I always use the lower sodium type) and bring to a bubble. The flour/butter mixture will thicken to a gravy. I generally add 1/2 - 3/4 of the can -- starting with less and adding more til it's the consistency I like. Taste - and add salt and pepper to your liking.

You can increase the amount of gravy you make -- just keep the butter and flour ratio about equal -- and 2 tbls butter/2 tbls flour will thicken about 1 can of broth. If you have meat juices (not grease) from the main course - add them to the gravy for extra flavor. If you have cooked a beef roast -- and there is melted fat in the pan, you can use it instead of the butter -- just make sure that your roasting pan is one you can put on the stove top -- if not, transfer to a pan. You can make a slightly richer beef gravy by using a mix of broth and red wine. Just remember - never cook with wine you'd not drink in a glass.