Recipe: Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Well for my first post I figured I'd post a recipe. Something useful and perhaps universal. Mashed potatoes work!

There are all kinds of mashed potatoes folks and they all have their place in specific aspects of my dining choices. I have my favorite instant mashed potatoes, my favorite Thanksgiving mashed potatoes, my favorite on-top-of-shepherds-pie mashed potatoes and yes, even my favorite frozen dinner mashed potatoes.
(Right now there are other guys out there thinking “You know what? Me too!”).

Well, the recipe below represents my favorite barbecued food mashed potatoes. This recipe was not that easy to come across or tweak to get it to where I like it. Fortunately, I just kept plugging away and now I’ve got my perfect taters for a barbecue feast.

You’re going to notice that they’re not the lowest calorie recipe you’re going to come across, but they are going to be some of the best tasting. Besides, when you’re busy sucking the last bits of barbecue sauce off a rib, are you really thinking about fat and cholesterol anyway?

Garlic Smashed Potatoes

1 head of garlic
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 Tbs olive oil
2-1/2 pounds red-skinned potatoes
(unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces)
3/4 cup whipping cream
4 Tbs sour cream

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Cut the top 1/4 inch off head of garlic to expose tops of cloves. Place on top of a sheet of foil. Spoon oil over, sprinkle with salt and pepper and wrap tightly in the foil. Bake until garlic cloves are tender, about 45 minutes.
Squeeze garlic cloves from skins into a small bowl, add butter and mash together thoroughly.

Cook potatoes in heavy large pot of boiling salted water until tender (about 18 minutes).

Drain potatoes, return to pot. Stir over low heat to allow excess water to evaporate. Add whipping cream, sour cream, and roasted garlic butter and mash together. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

I often add a 1/4 cup of chopped chives or chopped fresh parsley.

You want to make some “champ”? Slice some collared greens into strips, boil them until tender and fold them into the garlic mashed potatoes instead of the chives and parsley. Put ‘em in a bowl and sit out on your front porch with your dog, eat ‘em up and play your banjo!