How to make mashed potatoes into the star of your Thanksgiving - USA Today 10Best

Thanksgiving plate with mashed potatoes — Photo courtesy of E+ / Liliboas

Every year, I’m tasked with a single job at my in-laws' Thanksgiving; make the mashed potatoes. It is neither a glamorous nor a respected job. They didn't even serve mashed potatoes until I came along and insisted that I be a part of the day, so now I am begrudgingly given a corner of the kitchen in which to peel, boil, and smush, while much bigger, much more important things happen around me.

My mother-in-law’s turkey, for example, is basted dozens of times over many hours with a gravy recipe that came from the old country, and is served with two types of stuffing whose every ingredient was bought at a separate store across the state of New Jersey. She is building a particle collider. I am smashing rocks against other rocks.

I maintain that simple, no-frills mashed potatoes can be the best part of a Thanksgiving plate, but I also suspect that many potato mashers, like myself, are deeply insecure about being put in the culinary equivalent of right field.

So here are some ways to jazz up your mashed potatoes and earn, at long last, a place of some esteem in your family’s pantheon of chefs.

Focus on the presentation

Plate of Duchess potatoes — Photo courtesy of iStock / AmalliaEka

One of the easiest ways to show off is by making Duchess potatoes. It's a classic French dish which mixes your standard finely mashed potatoes with egg yolks and a dash of nutmeg, squeezes the pureed mixture through a piping bag, and then browns them in the oven. They're still mashed potatoes, but they look like adorable French pastries.

Another cool presentation method is to sprinkle regular mashed potatoes with chives, bacon and cheese, and cook them with a waffle iron.

Change the basics

Mashed potatoes with butter — Photo courtesy of iStock / Fudio

You do not need to make the preparation more complicated to add a little extra flavor: just tweak the main ingredients. Instead of going with regular milk, use buttermilk, mayonnaise, sour cream or cream cheese. You can also brown your butter, or throw a little bit of truffle butter in there for extra flavor.

Changing the potatoes will make the least difference in terms of flavor, but red potatoes with the skins left on looks cool, and Yukon Gold potatoes make the dish a nice buttery yellow.

Add a crowd-pleaser

Mashed potatoes with bacon and sage — Photo courtesy of iStock / Azurita

Don't go overboard – a Thanksgiving dish is a member of an ensemble, not a leading role. But it never hurts to add an extra savory element. The safest bets are garlic, crispy bacon, rosemary, scallions or cheddar cheese. If you want to go a step further, throw in some shallots, a smoky gouda, cooked leeks or pancetta.

If you've got a crowd that likes spice, try adding horseradish, wasabi, curry, chorizo, Italian sausage or jalapeño.

Get weird with the leftovers

Bubble and squeak cakes — Photo courtesy of iStock / clubfoto

You don't have to show off the day of: offer to make breakfast on Black Friday and use your leftover potatoes to cook up Bubble and Squeak. It's perfect for Thanksgiving because it allows you to incorporate pretty much all of your leftovers. It's like an omelette, but with potatoes as a base instead of the eggs.

If you're wondering, "Is there any dish that's more delightfully named than 'bubble and squeak'?" the answer is yes: The Scottish version is called Rumbledethumps.

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How to make mashed potatoes into the star of your Thanksgiving - USA Today 10Best
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