Sinfully Rich and Silky 2 Way Mashed Potatoes
Looking to elevate your mashed potatoes? These rich, creamy, light, and fluffly potatoes have a single base that turns into two different mashed potato dishes. In addition, there are suggested ingredients and modifications to appeal to all taste buds, adults and kiddos alike.
Servings: 10 -12
Equipment
- potato ricer (necessary for the lightest and fluffiest potatoes)
- toaster oven (not necessary if using oven)
- crock pot / slow cooker (necessary if making ahead)
Ingredients
Mashed Potato Base (for both potato dishes)
- 1 whole garlic bulb
- 1 tbsp olive oil for drizzling
- 5 lbs potatoes (Russet or Yukon Gold) peeled and diced
- 1 stick butter room temperature and cut into pieces
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature and cut into pieces
- 1-3 tsp salt adjust salt based on preference; start with 1 tsp and taste, then add more
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup half & half or milk heated prior to adding to the potatoes
Cheesy Baked Potato Casserole Finishes
- 2 tbsp butter melted
- 1-2 cups cheddar cheese your preferred sharpness level
Sage-Infused Butter Topped Potato Finishes
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra-virgin
- 5-7 leaves fresh sage whole leaves
- 4 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup fresh sage chopped
Instructions
Mashed Potato Base (for both potato dishes)*
- Preheat oven or toaster oven** to 400˚F / 204˚C and prepare garlic bulb. Remove majority of the external paper covering the bulb.*** Cut about ¼-½ inch off from the root end of a garlic bulb to expose most of the cloves underneath. Discard the cut root end and any loose paper. Place bulb on a sheet of foil and rub the exposed cloves with olive oil. Sprinkle with course salt. Seal with foil. Place in oven for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Check after 30 minutes and decide how caramelized you would like them. Leave them in for longer if you desire more and check every 10 minutes. Remove the garlic from the oven and allow to cool to touch.TIP: Roasting garlic in a bain-marie (hot water bath) prevents the garlic from "burning" to the foil. To do this, place water in the pan and then sit the foil covered garlic in the water. The foil opening should to be at the top and NOT sitting in the water.
- Place prepared potatoes in a large pot. Cover them with COLD water (hot will cause them to cook unevenly). Add 1¼ tbsp of salt (add enough salt to where the water tastes like the sea). Taste the water to ensure enough seasoning (potatoes absorb more salt when boiled and results in less salt needed at the end). Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low/medium and set the timer for 15 minutes. Then, check the largest pieces of potato with a knife for tenderness. When tender, drain well in a colander to remove as much water as possible.
- Prepare a large bowl for the potatoes. Place cut up butter and cream cheese in a large bowl.
- Preheat oven to 350˚F / 177˚C and set the Crock-Pot or slow cooker to warm.
- Rice the potatoes and roasted garlic. Use your ricer and rice potatoes on top of the butter and cream cheese (the heat will melt both). As you work in batches, squeeze out the cooled garlic from any intact skins and rice it along with potatoes.
- Add the rest of the base ingredients. Pour in the warmed half & half, scoop in the sour cream, and add the salt. Carefully, combine all ingredients until well mixed.
Cheesy Baked Potato Casserole Finishes****
- In a greased 1.5-2 quart casserole dish, scoop in half of the potatoes. Brush on melted butter and top with desired amount of cheese.
- Place potato casserole in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly and crispy around the edges. Remove when ready and enjoy.
Sage-Infused Butter Topped Potato Finishes
- If you are not ready to eat the potatoes after they've been mixed. Then, you need to keep them warm in a Crock-Pot or slow cooker until time.
- Prepare fried sage. For the fried sage, in a small saucepan over low-medium heat, add olive oil and allow to heat up for 30 seconds. Place one sage leaf in the oil to check the temperature. If the oil sizzles around it, the oil is ready.**** If not, remove leaf, wait a few more seconds and try again. Allow leaf to cook for 5 seconds, turn it over with tongs and allow to cook another 5 seconds. Remove the leaf from the oil and place on a paper-lined plate to drain. Repeat with other sage leaves working in batches of 3-4 at at time. You only need to fry 5-7, just enough to decorate and crumble over the potatoes.
- Prepare the sage-infused butter. In the same small saucepan, heat butter until melted and sizzling. Add the chopped sage and allow to infuse the butter for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and pour into a measuring cup.
- Transfer potatoes from slow cooker to a 1.5 quart serving dish. Use a spoon or knife to create swirls on top of the potatoes. Drizzle the sage-infused butter into the crevices. Decorate the top with the crispy fried sage leaves and crumble any extras on top to add more color and texture. Eat and enjoy!
Notes
*If you only want to make one of these potatoes, just half the base recipe and follow the ingredients and directions for the finishing preparations of that dish. If you want to make the full recipe using only one of the dishes, double the finishing ingredients for that dish.
**Roast your garlic in a toaster oven to save on oven space and heating up your home.
***You can roast peeled garlic cloves in the same way. Just decide on the number you would like and prepare them as suggested without any extra effort of removing garlic paper or skins.
****If you are ONLY making the Cheesy Baked Potato Casserole, you can prepare it 1 day ahead of time, refrigerate, and set out for 30 minutes before baking.
*****If the sage begins to turn brown, the oil is too hot, reduce the heat. The sage should be a bright green.
Extra special additions:
-Add cooked crumbled bacon to the Cheesy Baked Potato Casserole upon serving.
-Add crispy cooked pancetta to the Sage-Infused Butter Topped Potatoes upon serving.
For an Italian flare, make the following adjustments:
-Keep ingredients the same except use 3 lbs of potatoes, replace cream cheese with 8 oz garlic and herb goat cheese, decrease butter to 1/2 stick, increase sour cream to 1 1/2 cups, adjust half & half/milk as needed, and top with grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese. Bake as directed for the Cheesy Baked Potato Casserole.