Mexican Cornbread

 

Right out of the Oven

INGREDIENTS:

• 1     1/4 C. All PURPOSE FLOUR
•   1 1/4 C. YELLOW CORNMEAL
•   1 1/2 Tbsp GRANULATED SUGAR
  
•   1 tsp BAKING SODA
•   3/4 tsp SALT
•   3/4 C. SOUR CREAM  + 3/4 C. WHOLE MILK  (or 1 ¼ CUP
        BUTTERMILK)
•   2 LARGE EGGS
•   8 TBSP MELTED BUTTER OR MARGARINE (cooled)
•   1 1/4 C. FRESHLY GRATED SHARP CHEDDAR CHEESE
•   1 C. FRESH CORN OFF COB, FROZEN OR CANNED
•   1 FINELY MINCED JALAPEÑO (seeds and veins removed)
•   BUTTER FOR SKILLET OR MARGARINE/COOKING
      SPRAY

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. Mix dry ingredients
3. Add eggs, melted butter/margarine, sour cream & milk (or buttermilk)
4. Mix until dry ingredients are wet. Don’t overmix
5. Gently fold in cheese, corn and jalapeno
6. Pour into buttered iron skillet
7. Cook until a knife, inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serving Suggestion:

I’d serve it right out of the skillet if you’re serving buffet style or taking it to potluck. The skillet will keep it hot longer. Turn it out on a plate if you’re going to put it on the table. A little butter or margarine completes any cornbread, but especially this one.

Sheila's Never Fail Perfect Pie Crust

I've had some requests for Mama's never fail, flaky perfect pie crust. The woman can make a pie crust I'm here to tell you. Her made from scratch chocolate pie using this crust recipe is to live for (I say live rather than die because you are going to want a second piece. It's easy and hard to mess up.  Enjoy!       - Tom


Ingredients:

4 cups flour
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups shortening
1 tbsp vinegar
1 large egg
1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Put first 3 ingredients in large bowl
2. Mix well with fork
3. Add shortening and mix with your hands until crumbly
4. In small bowl beat water, vinegar and egg
5. Combine the two mixtures, kneading with hands until mixed
6. Divide dough into four or five portions and shape into round flat patties
7. Chill at least 1/2 hour
8. May be frozen if individually sealed in plastic wrap or ziplock bag

Summary:

Makes 4 or 5 crusts. I've used this recipe for more than 30 years and never had it fail. I use my hands to mix the dough because the more gently you mix it, the flakier the crust will be. When you are ready to make a pie, thaw (if frozen) and roll our with rolling pin. There are tools to make the fancy edges with or you can do it the old fashioned way by pinching the edges to make a nice looking edge.

Sheila  

Making Bread While Working at Home

You can buy a bread machine, but that doesn't guarantee your bread will be any good.

It promises to be easy to do, but in reality, mmmmmmmmmm not so much!

There is a secret to making bread and I will share it with you. It involves no exotic ingredients, no special kitchen tools or the wearing of special underwear (although you may if you wish). The secret to great bread-making is knowing what a baby's butt feels like when you pat it!

Of course, you actually have to have taken a run at diaper changing at some point in your life. If you have not, then by all means, run straight out, find a baby, remove it's diaper and pat its butt. If you get home without being arrested, then you are ready to make Grandma's bread.

Introduction:


The "Bread Machine Recipes" cookbook says to measure all the ingredients carefully. If you ever watched you grandmother bake bread, you realize at once what balderdash that is. The truth is bread wants to be baked. The flour and yeast and stuff wants to become a beautiful loaf of golden crusted bread. It has no higher ambition. You, as the baker, are merely the facilitator of this exquisite transformation. So remember, the ingredients are merely a suggestion. It is the baby's butt that is the key!

Ingredients:

• Half cup or so of hot tap water (not boiling)

• Teaspoon of salt

• One egg

• 2 tablespoons honey, Karo Syrup or a big handful 

  of brown sugar. (As you gain confidence - and weight 

  - you WILL later add more than this I promise you).

• 2 cups of whole wheat flour

• 3/4 cup or so of white all-purpose flour

• A big glop of butter or margarine, a couple of 

  tablespoons of Olive or vegetable oil or some Crisco, 

  whatever you have.

• 1/4 cup of nonfat dry milk (I've never done it this way 

  - I put this in for historical purposes). I use a quarter 

  can of evaporated milk.

• 1/4 cup or so of wheat germ.  This was another of my 

  grandmother's secrets for making the bread the right 

  texture and adding nutritional value to it.  Wheat germ 

  is the heart of the grain and is very good for you and 

  also slightly crunchy, a quality which I like in my wheat bread.

• 2 packages of rapid rise yeast or regular yeast or a yeast cake 

  - whatever works for you.

Directions:

1. Dump everything into the bread machine in any order you want. They say it matters, but it doesn't. Just don't do the water yet. Make sure you screw in the twirler paddle dealy bob before you pour in the ingredients or it gets real messy trying to get the thing on there and rotating freely - I do that a lot (like tonight).

2. Program the machine for basic bread and a 1.5 pound loaf. If you want to not have the hole in the bottom from the paddle that you get when you bake it in the machine, then set it for dough. You'll have to pull out the loaf, reshape it and put it in a bread pan to bake in your oven, but you're on your own there. I make 3 of these babies or more a week on a good week and I don't want to have to watch the oven - am almost certain recipe for smoked bread if I'm watching it cook. Press Start.

3. Fiddle with the dough as it forms. The bread recipe book stopped at step 2. It is wrong to do so, especially since I haven't told you to put in the water yet. Once you press start, you must tend to the critical initial kneading of the loaf. Open the top of the bread machine. Watch the paddle dealy (no need to learn these technical names - it will be obvious to you what the paddle dealy is). Use a big wooden spoon and poke on the dough ball as it forms so that it picks up all the flour as you slowly add the hot water. Don't use all the hot water before it starts coalescing into dough. You may not need it all.

4. Be patient. At first it won't look like there's enough water, but keep poking the dough ball down to pick up the excess flour. You may need to add some flour if the dough ball is too sticky. Here's where the secret comes in!

5. Feel the dough. If it feels just like a baby's butt when you pat it, you have achieved doughy perfection. Add hot water or flour to achieve the perfect texture. Once you have done that, go away and let the machine do its job. Come back in about 3 and a half hours to witness the completion of the process.

6. Most bread machines use the paddle dealy to push the bread out when it is done. I try to get there before that happens so that the bottom of my bread doesn't get squashed. I take it out before the machine ejects it. It may just be my machine, but that's my recommendation.

7. Enjoy!

Tom King - Baker Extraordinaire
(and God bless whoever invented the bread machine!)

Homemade Flour Tortillas

I started making tortillas by accident. I ran out of flour tortillas one evening just as I was struck by a giant craving for quesadillas. So I pulled up some recipes for homemade tortillas of the flour variety. Using simple tools like my iron skillet, mixer with dough hook, rolling pin and a spatula, I went to work and produced a tasty tortilla. I've fooled around with the recipe and this one is the best yet.

Ingredients

• 
  
  3 cups all-purpose flour (You can substitute a cup of whole wheat flour for one of the cups of white flour if you want a little fiber in your tortillas - I like them better that way)
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

1. Toss all the dry ingredients into your mixing bowl and with the dough hook mix up the dry ingredients thoroughly on medium speed. 
2. Keep the mixer running and add oil and water. Mix for about a minute, keeping the dry flour scraped from the sides of the bowl. When mixture starts to form a ball, reduce speed to low and mix with the dough hook until the dough is nice and smooth.
3. Turn out the dough onto a well-floured cutting board. Divide the dough in half, then in half again. Keep halving each new ball of dough until you have 16 equal dough pieces. 
4. Roll each piece into a ball.
5. Flatten the little balls with your hand as much as possible.
6. The dough may be a little sticky. If it is roll it in a little more flour, then lay a cloth over the dour balls for about 15 minutes.
7. Heat your griddle or a nice cast iron skillet which I prefer. Lightly oil the skillet and wipe off excess. 
8. With your rolling pin, roll each dough ball flat into a rough disk about six or seven inches across.
   
   You'll have to lightly flour the rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking to it. 
9. Don't stack the uncooked tortillas or they'll stick. I roll them out one at a time getting the next one flattened while the first is cooking.
10. Make sure the pan is very hot - I work at just above medium heat. Put your tortilla into the pan and cook about 1 minute. The bottom should have a few pale brown spots. The topside will show a few thin bubbles. You'll have to fiddle with the heat to make sure the tortilla doesn't brown too fast or too slow. One way you get too crisp tortillas and the other too tough. It should look right after about a minute. Then flip the tortilla and cook for another 30 seconds. The tortilla should be soft and flexible with a few brown spots on it.
11. Use a pair of tongs to remove the tortilla and stack it in a covered container. A ziplock bag works too. This will lock in the moisture and ensure the tortillas remain soft and flexible.
12. Before you start another tortilla, wipe out any flour that may have accumulated in the pan.
13. You can serve them while they are still warm or after they cool or you can warm them up again. They keep nicely. 

Serving Suggestions:

Flour tortillas will keep pretty well stored in an airtight container or zippered bag. You can keep them at room temperature for 24 hours or longer in the fridge. You can freeze them indefinitely by separating the tortillas with parchment or waxed paper and stack them in a zippered bag before you shove them in the freezer.
When you are ready to use the tortillas, place a slightly damp paper towel in the bottom of a container (with a cover) that will hold the stacked tortillas. I use a microwave tortilla warmer. But then I'm from Texas and we all have one of those. Microwave them covered for 30 seconds or uncovered for 15-25 seconds until warm. Leave the cover on and set them on the table for everyone to dig in.

Great for quesadillas or flour tacos or burritos or..............dang, now I'm hungry for Mexican food. Make up about 4 batches of these, throw out some hot refried beans, cheese, lettuce and tomato with a big bowl of salsa and they'll be a hit for burritos at your next potluck.

© 2016 by Tom King* All photos are © in the public domain

Crock Pot Cornbread

Thanksgiving is coming up and the oven is going to be a crowded place. Here's a trick to free up some space in the oven and get your cornbread done for stuffing. Not only that, but it makes great cornbread and minimizes the potential for burning it.  It also makes a nice compact and attractive cornbread for potluck. The process is simple.

Ingredients:

• Cornbread mix (Martha White is the best - no lard)
• Eggs and milk as called for by the mix 
• Optional: 1/4 cup grated Velveeta or cheddar cheese
• Alternate:  Cornbread batter from scratch
• Butter or Margarine
• Crock pot

Directions:

1. Turn the crock pot on high
2. Melt butter or margarine in the bottom of the crock pot and brush it around on the sides and evenly over the bottom of the pot so the cornbread won't stick
3. Mix up the batter while the butter is melting.
4. Optional: Grate the quarter cup cheese and blend in with the batter
5. Pour the batter into the crock pot and cover with the lid.
6. Bake for one to two hours depending on how hot the crock pot runs
7. Bake till a knife inserted into the cornbread comes out clean.
8. Turn off pot. If the crock is removable, lift it out and use a spatula to loosen the sides and bottom.  Turn out onto a plate and voila!  Cornbread!

Note:
Adding a little honey to the mix makes a nice sweeter cornbread if you like that sort of thing. To make Mexican cornbread add cheese and jalapeno or diced poblano peppers and onions. This is the easiest way I've found to make cornbread. Because it cooks slow, it's forgiving to cooks that don't multi-task well - giving you a 20 minute or so window to take it off the heat. The crock pot gives you that nice even heat like an iron skillet and makes a crisp crust with the melted butter on the bottom. And it gives you a nice cute cornbread to take to potluck. You could make two or three on Friday while you are working on your Friday housekeeping. And it'll only cost you three 50 cent boxes of cornbread mix a little milk and a few eggs. Three cornbreads this size will give you plenty to go around at the potluck and people will be amazed at how good it is warmed in the microwave just before serving.

© 2016 by Tom King

Hearth Bread - A Simple Daily Bread

 

One day I was looking for a bread recipe without any egg in it because I had flour that day but no eggs. It being a 3 mile walk to the nearest place that sells eggs, I went looking for an egg-free bread recipe. I found this bread machine recipe in a book my daughter gave me.  I fiddled with the recipe a bit over the next few times I made bread and finally got it to come out just like I want. This is my favorite bread recipe now. The original had no whole wheat, so I added some to good effect and it was even better.

I'm not sure why it's called "hearth" bread. I suppose it's supposed to be the sort of bread pioneers made on their hearths or something. Either that or it's something tasty to eat around your fireplace, which fact, I can attest to. 

First allow me to repeat my grandmother's bread-making secrets:

1. Dissolve the yeast first in warm (not hot) water - till it bubbles a little
2. Knead the dough adding flour or water till it feels like a baby's bottom when you spank the dough.
3. Be patient - give the dough plenty of time to rise.
4. Let the dough rise twice - the second time in the bread pan.
5. Wheat germ or something crunchy like flax seed, chia seeds or some such. You can even add a little oatmeal to beef it up some. .  I run flax seed through a blender till it's about like pecan meal. You can also use pecan meal to give it a crunchy texture and some extra protein.

Tools:

• Measuring cups and spoons
• Bread pan or roll pan (if you're making rolls)
• Kitchen-Aid Mixer (Every manly man who cooks needs one of these in his kitchen)

The ingredients are pretty basic.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup very warm water
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon butter, margarine or olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey, light molasses or a handful of brown sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose white flour
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• 1 package active dry yeast 
• 1 tablespoon wheat germ if you've got it. I also grind up flax seed in the blender to use when I don't have wheat germ. Make it about the texture of pecan meal. Pecan meal also works for bread too. Flax seed has got lots of Omega 3's in it and gives the bread a slightly crunchy texture as do various nut meals.  You can also add a handful of oatmeal which gives the dough a nice oatey flavor too.  Here's a post I did about making nut meal and flour with a blender.

Directions:

Letting the dough hook do the work!

1. Add the yeast to the warm water and stir vigorously with a whisk to dissolve it into the water. Let the yeast sit till it bubbles a little on top.
2. Place all the sugars, fats, and fluids together in the mixing bowl and whisk or beat with a wire beater.
3. Start the dough hook turning slowly on your stand mixer and add flour and dry ingredients to the liquid stuff (oil, yeast and sugar mixture). You can also knead it by hand, but who wants to do that? You will need a very large bowl for hand kneading to avoid coating the kitchen in a fine layer of flour.
4. Add flour or water as needed to make the dough the texture of a baby's behind when you pat it. It should be not quite sticky to the touch. Run the dough hook or knead for a good ten minutes to achieve the proper texture for the finished bread.
5. Cover the mixing bowl and set it in a warm place. Cover with a cup towel and allow the bread to rise to double it's original size.
6. Return the bowl to the mixer and run the dough hook for another ten minutes. Don't add water or flour unless you absolutely have to to maintain the correct consistency.
7. Lightly oil the the inside of a bread pan.  Cooking oil spray is perfect for this. 
8. Form the kneaded dough into a loaf shape.
9. Place the kneaded dough into the pan. Put the bread pan somewhere warm with a towel over it and allow the loaf to fully rise. It should rise well above the top of the bread pan.



Dough ball before rising

10. When the dough is fully risen, place the bread into a preheated 350° oven. Bake until brown on top.  You can enhance the color of the top of the bread by pulling it out before it darkens good and brush the top with butter or margarine, the put it back in the over to bake that nice golden brown color.

Final Notes:  This recipe makes a 1½ to 2 pound loaf. It makes great sandwiches and toast. As a sandwich, the bread adds a whole other dimension to the taste of a sandwich. You can also form the dough into rolls or hamburger or hot dog buns with a little practice. You'll learn to go a little spare when you make buns. They rise a lot during the second rising and then again in the oven. In my early experiments I had a couple of vegeburger that could have handled a 2 pound patty, a small head of lettuce and a dozen tomatoes.  They were wonderful. I wanted seconds, but I couldn't get up from my chair to make another one.  A vegeburger on whole wheat homemade buns is a treat not to miss!

* This looks like white bread, but it's actually wheat bread. I used some oat flour in this one which lightened the color.  You can substitute oat flour for some of the other flour in the recipe. Just dump some oatmeal into a blender and whiz it up. Makes a nice flour for giving bread a kind of oatey flavor.

© 2015 by Tom King

Honeymama's Incredible Sabbath Rolls

Honeymama in the kitchen!

My grandmother got her nickname "Honeymama" from my cousin Jeff. My grandpa called her "Honey" and Jeff's mom called her "Mama" so he, being a confused toddler, put the two words together and she became "Honeymama, which was what she was ever after. The name kind of gave her a mystical aura, especially where food was concerned. She was one of those brilliant cooks who have a knack for making food taste and look almost painfully good. She worked for years in the cafeteria at Southwestern Junior College and her rolls were a campus favorite. Honeymama  taught my wife five secrets to making good wheat rolls and she taught me and I pass them along to you!

The first secret was to dissolve the yeast in warm (not hot) water first.  and to wait till the water bubbled slightly. If the water doesn't bubble a bit, then the yeast is no good and the bread won't rise. Be careful to not make the water too hot or it can kill the yeast and the bread won't rise. If you knead the bread by hand, you don't want dead yeast, because all you'll wind up with is sore fingers and concrete-like bread.

The second secret was getting the right texture.   The proportions below are not exact. Honeymom would put everything together in the bowl with a cup of flour and a cup of water standing by.  As the dough formed up, she would add a touch of flour or a touch of water until the texture was just right. She taught me to pat the dough gently to test it. The texture was supposed to be about that of a baby's bottom, she said. You fingers should stick just a little, but release easily.  The texture was important.

The third secret was patience.  I produced several pans of rolls the consistency of rubber before I learned this lesson. You have to allow plenty of time for the rolls to rise fully. You can't be impatient. Go away and watch a movie or something to give the dough ball to double in size.  

The fourth secret was to let the dough rise twice. Until I came to trust this rule, my rolls were thick and clunky. I was so afraid to punch down and knead the dough after the first rising. I was afraid it wouldn't rise again.  Finally, I trusted my grandmother and low and behold the dough not only rose twice, but the texture and tenderness was markedly improved. 

My Sweet Baboo taught me that you could make the dough the day before and have fresh hot Sabbath rolls for Sabbath lunch. All you have to do is make the dough up on Friday, let it rise once, make the dough into rolls, put them in the pan and put them in the fridge overnight. Incredibly the rolls actually rise the second time in the fridge and by morning all you have to do is set them out in a warm place early in the morning. About 20 minutes or so before lunch, pop them in the overn and they will not only cook, but they'll fill the house with the best smell you can imagine.

The fifth secret is wheat germ. Just add it to the dough when you are making it and not only does it make the rolls more nutritious, but gives them a slight crunchy texture and taste that's amazing.

With a little practice you can get looser with the process and even get a bit creative, but for the first few times, it's best to adhere to the basic recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 packages Dry yeast
• 6 tablespoons Water
• 3/4 cup Evaporated milk
• 3/4 cup Warm (not hot) water
• 6 tablespoons Brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons Oil
• 2 Eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 4 cups White flour
• 2 cups Whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup Wheat germ

STEP BY STEP DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix together warm water and yeast. Stir it with a wire whisk then let it sit till it bubbles slightly.
2. Dump all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. You need a big one to accommodate all the kneading and mixing without getting flour everywhere.  A nice Kitchen-Aid mixer with a dough hook and a bowl shield.  Mix everything up. A dough hook does this nicely and saves you time and energy. There's a reason old-time professional bakers had such huge arms.
3. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and then add all the wet ingredients including the yeast.
4. Stir everything together and knead it until it forms dough. Here's where you'll appreciate the stand mixer.  Keep kneading the doug for ten to fifteen minutes. You'll probably need to add a little flour or water to achieve the right constency when you "spank" the dough. If you're blessed with a stand mixer and a dough hook, just leave it running for about 10 to 15 minutes, checking it as you go for consistency.
5. Once the dough is just right, cover the mixing bowl and set it in a warm place to rise. When it's risen to double it's size (give it a couple of hours), roll the dough out onto a countertop or cutting board.
6. Punch down the dough and knead it. I usually do this with the stand mixer and give it another five or ten minutes with the dough hook.  
7. Get out your roll pans. These should be "seasoned" or have a nonstick surface. My grandmother never used her roll pans for anything else and didn't wash them between batches. She just wiped them down with a little oil and stored them. The rolls always just rolled out when they were done and never stuck to her pans.
8. Pinch off a little handful of dough that will just fit in your curled up fingers. Cup your hand over the dough ball and then roll it lightly around in circles, guiding the dough with your fingers and thumb. Keep gently rolling in round and round till it forms a smooth ball about two inches apart.
9. If you're not sure of your roll pans, spray them with a little cooking spray to prevent sticking. Then place the dough balls side by side in the pan. Lay down a circle around the edges with the sides of the dough balls not quite touching. 
10. Cover the pans of unbaked rolls with dish towels. The recipe makes about two pans. You'll need them. People scarf these things down like candy and two pans of rolls will not last long, especially at a potluck.  Set the pans in a warm place to rise if you are going to cook them the same day. If you're preparing for Sabbath on Friday, set them on a shelf in the refrigerator. They'll start rising overnight and be ready to complete in the morning. 
11. Let the rolls rise until their sides are touching and tops are rounded and sticking up above the edge of the pans. Give them a couple of hours to warm up to room temperature. If you've got a sunny windowsill, they rise really well there.
12. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 
13. Once the oven is ready, put the rolls in the oven to bake.
14. When they are almost done, take them out of the oven and brush the tops of the rolls with margarine or butter. Then, put them back in and bake them until the tops are a nice golden brown.
15. Take the rolls out of the oven and turn them gently over onto a plate. I take a second plate, put it over the bottoms of the rolls and then flip them back over. Put the rolls out and cover them with a cloth till you are ready to eat.  
16. Don't forget to swipe one while it's hot, butter it and eat it. I know hot, just baked bread is not supposed to be good for you, but let me tell you, these puppies are good for the soul, whatever they might do for your digestion. 

Final note:

It may take some practice, but if you master making these rolls, you'll never have to take home any leftovers from potluck. I've seen family members stuffing their pockets with Honeymom's rolls on their way out the door after Thanksgiving dinners.

Enjoy.

© 2015 by Tom King

Mama's Mashed Potatoes

(c) 2012 by Tom King

This is what mashed potatoes should look like.

Here's the recipe for Mama's Mashed Potatoes, which is the perfect companion to Barbecue Tender-Bits. These are Southern style mashed potatoes and they are to die for..........perhaps literally. This is not a low fat dish. However, if you're in the mood to celebrate, they cannot be beat.

One of the benefits of learning to cook your favorite meals yourself is that you can eat well at home without having to fly your mother cross-country every time you want this favorite dish. I learned to cook passably well by helping my wife make meals. She learned from her grandmother and mine and developed her own dishes to a level of artistic skill I cannot duplicate. I can get in the neighborhood, but have yet to match her. She on the other hand can cook right up to the grandmothers' level and, in most cases she goes beyond them. Mama's mashed potatoes are legendary. Here are the basic "secret ingredients". Getting the flavor right is a matter of adding a bit here and a bit there until the taste is right. That's actually the fun part of making this recipe

WARNING:  As I said before, these are not diet taters. They are a treat for Sunday or Sabbath dinner and holidays. Eat these too often and you'll find yourself weighing 300 pounds and coping with bad knees.  You have been warned.

Ingredients:

1. Potatoes (russets work, but red-skinned potatoes are by far the most delicious)
2. Potato flakes
3. Small can evaporated milk
4. Cream Cheese
5. Salt
6. Butter or margarine
7. Garlic powder
8. Sugar or Splenda

Equipment:

1. Large pot or boiler (as its apparently called in Louisiana)
2. Mixing bowl
3. Mixer (preferably an industrial sized Kitchen-aid, but a hand mixer will do)
4. Assorted spoons

 Instructions:

1. Boil the potatoes. I cut them up some so they'll cook faster. Depending on your taste, you can leave the skins on, especially with the thin skinned red potatoes. It's better if you boil them in the peels, though. They're more nutritious that way, though the final product isn't the usual pristine white most are used to. Go ahead and peel them if you are concerned about presentation. Avoid the Yukon gold potato variety. They do not mash well, though they make a nice potato salad. It's the red potatoes that make the best mash.
2. Place potatoes in mixing bowl with 1/2 to 1 cup of the water they were boiled in. Mash the potatoes with the mixer. They'll wind up a little soupy, but that's what the potato flakes are for.  
3. Add butter, cream cheese and a small can of evaporated milk and and mix it all in. I cut up the cream cheese and butter first and let the hot potatoes melt them before adding the milk.The butter is guesswork, I usually start with a big spoonful and add more in the last step if needed.
4. Add Garlic powder, salt and sugar or Splenda to taste. The wife has been adding artificial sweetener for some time in the interest of lowering calories. That still doesn't make it a diet dish, just so you know. This step is the critical one. Achieving that Southern mashed tater flavor is all about the blend of ingredients.  You don't need much more than a teaspoonful of the garlic and sugar. Add salt to taste. The mixture will still be a little soupy, but you should be able to taste whether you're getting it right. There should be a light hint of garlic and butter. The cream cheese shouldn't stand out. Somewhere between a block and half a regular foil block of cream cheese works nicely depending on how many potatoes you use to give it a creamy texture.
5. As you run the mixer, gradually sprinkle in dried potato flakes until the potatoes thicken. You'll know it's right when the mixer starts to leave swirl marks behind as the bowl rotates. 

Because potatoes are not all the same size, absolute measurements of ingredients are not really practical. Mashed potatoes are an art form, like dance or story-telling. It takes practice and the only way you know you've got it right is by tasting it till you get all the flavors balanced just so.

My son Matt is back in Texas and misses his Mama's cooking. So, at his requested, I posted this to go with my earlier post on Barbecue Tender-Bits as these two dishes and a good salad with maybe some broccoli and my grandmother's homemade rolls make up his favorite meal. The next food post I'll do is my Honeymama's homemade roll recipe. Till then, here's a passable wheat roll recipe you can make in your bread machine that are pretty good till the real thing comes along.

I also posted this recipe because really good mashed potatoes are so seldom seen anymore. I figure if you're going to get fat, it's way better to do it with this kind of food than on two dollar hamburgers. Hamburgers fill your belly. Mama's Mashed Potatoes fill your soul!

© 2012 by Tom King