Potatoes Three Ways   4-13-11

It's potato week!  Easter dinner wouldn't be complete without the right spuds, so Ashley and I collaborated on some potato recipes to brighten up your table this month.  For the practical type, we've got the dish on a perfectly fluffy mash with all of Ashley's how-to insight delivered with the usual pics and tricks.  And for those with a penchant for cheese, I'm here for you too. 

Potatoes Au Gratin (that's 'with cheese' in case you're wondering) is one of my favorite recipes, and no, it's not just for Betty Crocker anymore.  You can make your own in no time.  I just slice up a few potatoes into thin discs and saute them in butter for a bit.  Next comes cheese and garlic and a short staycation in the oven.  They taste amazing, and then you can tell Betty to mind her own Easter dinner...                                 

                                                         Au Gratin

I love my Au Gratin, but I recently developed another cheesy potato dish that is a big contender for the Best Potato title.  You might need to loosen your belt for this one, but it's well worth it.  I was making dinner the other day with a close friend who suggested we try putting Alfredo sauce on potatoes.  What a discovery!  I'm not kidding here:  I've already made them for half a dozen people to spread the love. 

You see we were making dinner to celebrate the DVD release of Eat Pray Love, and let me tell you, those potatoes brought me a lot of love.  There's the cream and the butter that I love, and the cream cheese.  I love that too.  Then there's the parmesan... and it all gets poured over the pan of roasted red potatoes.  Love.  Those.  Spuds.                 

                                                        Alfredo Potato

Now for those of you who have managed to successfully rewire your inner cheese cravings, let's talk mash.  There are some of you thinking "why reinvent the spud?  It's already great," and we hear you.  Here are some tips on making a basic mash awesome.  When it comes to the basics, we're all about perfection.  After all, if you're going to make something a hundred times, it might as well be, well, perfect. 

                                                        Mashed Potato

When I got married I learned that my way of making mashed potatoes was all wrong.  I won't lie.  It ticked me off, what with my cooking obsession.  Even now, my brother-in-law and I have different methods, but I keep doing it my way because I'm stubborn.  (He is too.  I'm just saying.)  Now Ashley is here to set us all straight, so let's get it right people!  We're talking butter.  Milk.  Salt and Pepper.  You've got this, so read on for the pics and directions.        

 -Sierra