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The Recorder, Amsterdam, N.Y.
FOOD
November 22, 2014 / 17
Turkey
The Associated Press
Mashed potatoes — putting the comfort in comfort food.
Holiday table is not complete
without the mashed potatoes
By NOELLE CARTER
Los Angeles Times
Properly made, comfort food is an art. Mashed
potatoes are no exception — more important, most
Thanksgiving tables are not complete without
them.
And though personal preference may have a lot
to do with what you might consider the “perfect”
mash — do you like your potatoes smooth or
lumpy? Creamy or fluffy? — there are nevertheless some tips you can follow to elevate your
spuds above the rest of the pack. Continue reading
below, for a few of those tips.
What potatoes do I use? For light or delicate
mashed potatoes, use bakers, like russets. With
their high starch content and low sugar, they’ll
whip up nice and fluffy, perfect for soaking in all
the cream, butter and sour cream you can throw at
them. If you prefer mashed potatoes that are
denser, like those trendy “smashed potatoes,” use
boilers.
Whether to keep the skin on is one of those personal-preference things. I usually peel if the potatoes have thicker skins (the skins can be a bit
chewy); if I’m using thin-skinned potatoes, and am
going for a more rustic look, I’ll leave them on.
Store peeled potatoes in a bowl of cool water
(make sure they’re immersed) before cooking to
keep them from browning.
Don’t cut the potatoes before boiling them; cook
them whole. Cutting the potatoes makes them
more likely to soak up water as they cook, making
for soggy mashed potatoes.
For a fluffier texture, use a potato masher or run
the potatoes through a ricer. It’s easy to overwork
the potatoes using an electric mixer, which can
make them gummy.
Mash the potatoes while they’re still hot, before
they’ve had a chance to cool. Mashing while hot
will give the potatoes a lighter texture.
Add butter for richness and cream or milk to give
the potatoes the desired consistency. For a little
tang, you might try adding sour cream or yogurt to
your potatoes.
You can find a great recipe below.
MASHED POTATOES
Active work time: 10 minutes.
Total preparation time: 30 minutes
Serves 4
Potatoes can be peeled before or after cook-
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ing, but peeling afterward prevents them from
absorbing water, and they hold together better.
6 baking potatoes
Salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup hot milk, evaporated milk,
half-and-half or whipping cream
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
Pepper
Cream, optional
Cook potatoes by either boiling or steaming:
To boil, in heavy saucepan with tight-fitting lid,
cook potatoes in about 1 inch boiling, salted water
until fork-tender. If whole, cook 30 to 40 minutes;
if cut up, 20 to 25 minutes. If the lid doesn’t fit
tightly, water may boil away. Check occasionally
and add more water if necessary.
To steam, place wire rack on bottom of kettle or
large saucepan and add water to just below level
of rack. Bring water to boil, add potatoes and
cook, tightly covered, until fork-tender. If whole,
cook 30 to 45 minutes; if cut up, 20 to 30 minutes.
If the lid is not tight-fitting, check occasionally to
see if water should be added.
Peel potatoes (this can also be done before cooking). Use a potato masher, electric mixer or ricer to
mash potatoes.
With a potato masher, press tool into potatoes in
downward motion, forcing potatoes through cutting grid. With an electric mixer, begin by mashing
potatoes slightly with stationary beaters. Turn the
mixer on low speed and whip to desired consistency. With a ricer, place boiled potatoes in a perforated cylinder, then squeeze long handles together
to force contents through ricer holes. Let rice-like
pieces mound in serving dish.
Beating with a mixer or wooden spoon, gradually
add heated milk, evaporated milk, half-and-half or
whipping cream, according to taste, until light and
fluffy. Potatoes will be creamier and thinner if
more liquid is used. Finish with softened butter or
margarine to taste. Season to taste with salt and
pepper.
Serve immediately or spoon into greased casserole and smooth light film of cream over top. Keep
warm in oven heated to 250 degrees. Cover with
towel to absorb steam.
EACH SERVING: 250 calories; 216 mg sodium; 33
mg cholesterol; 12 g fat; 32 g carbohydrates; 5 g
protein; 0.73 g fiber.
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from page 16
Remove the bird from brine
and rinse inside and out with
cold water. Discard the brine.
4. Place the bird on roasting
rack inside a half sheet pan (a
cookie sheet surrounded by a lip)
and pat dry with paper towels.
5. Combine the apple, onion,
cinnamon stick and 1 cup of water
in a microwave-safe dish and
microwave on high for 5 minutes.
Remove these aromatics from the
water and add to the turkey’s cavity, along with the rosemary and
sage. Tuck the wings underneath
the bird and coat the skin liberally
with canola oil.
6. Roast the turkey on lowest
level of the oven for 30 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 350
degrees. Cook until a thermometer inserted into the deepest part
of the thigh (without touching
the bone) reaches 165 degrees.
A 14- to 16-pound bird should
require a total of 2 to 2 1/2
hours of roasting. Let the turkey
rest, loosely covered with foil or
a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.
PER SERVING (BASED ON 12):
567 calories; 19 g fat; 5 g saturated fat; 343 mg cholesterol; 92
g protein; 1 g carbohydrate; 1 g
sugar; no fiber; 1,037 g sodium;
74 mg calcium.
DRY-BRINED TURKEY
Yield: 12 to 16 servings
1 (12- to 16-pound) turkey
3 to 4 tbspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground
black pepper
10 fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley
2 small onions, halved
2 apples, cored and halved
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups water or white wine,
divided
Note: This requires 2 days’ of
dry brining before cooking.
1. Two days before serving,
rinse the turkey and pat dry. Rub
all over with the salt, slipping
salt under the skin where possible and rubbing some into the
cavities; use about 1 tablespoon
per every 4 pounds of bird. Put
the bird in a large plastic bag
and refrigerate. On the second
night, turn the turkey over.
2. One hour before cooking,
remove the turkey from the bag
and pat dry. Put in a roasting pan
and allow to warm up a bit.
3. Preheat the oven to 450
degrees. Sprinkle half the pepper
into the main cavity of the
turkey and add the thyme, parsley, half the onions and half the
apples. Tie the legs together
with kitchen twine. Put the
remaining apples and onions in
the neck opening and tuck the
neck skin under the bird.
4. Rub the butter under the
breast skin and over the thigh
meat. Sprinkle the bird with the
remaining pepper. Roast for 30
minutes.
5. Remove the turkey from the
oven and reduce the heat to 350
degrees. Cover the breast of the
bird and the wing tips with foil.
Add 1 1/2 cups of the water (or
white wine) to the roasting pan
and roast the bird for another 2
hours or so, depending on size;
figure on 10 minutes a pound for
an unstuffed bird. Remove the
foil from the breast in the last
half hour so it browns.
6. When the turkey has roasted
for 2 hours, begin to test for doneness by inserting an instant-read
thermometer (digital is best) into
two different places in the thigh,
making sure not to touch bone; it
should be about 165 degrees.
7. When it is done, tip the turkey
so the interior juices run into the
pan. Remove the turkey to a
rimmed baking sheet or a serving
platter, cover with foil and then a
damp kitchen towel, and allow to
rest for at least 30 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, pour the fat and
drippings from the pan into a
measuring cup. Add the 1/2 cup
white wine (or broth) to the pan,
stirring to deglaze it, and pour
that into the same measuring
cup. The fat and drippings can
then be used to make gravy.
Daily Bridge Club
by Frank Stewart
Tribune Media Services