you say potato

Potatoes are always a crowd pleaser.  Here are two easy recipes…

Mashed Potatoes
(serves 8)

two pounds of yukon gold potatoes
2-3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup half & half (or cream, or milk, or fat free half & half – whatever you have!)
freshly ground salt & pepper 

Use a potato peeler and peel away the skin of all your potatoes.  Doing this under a running tap will make the process easier. If the potatoes are on the larger size cut in half as they will cook faster if they are in smaller pieces. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and boil until you can easily pierce through each potato with a knife. They should not be hard in the center.

Drain away all water and start mashing with a potato masher.  Whilst mashing, add butter and half & half.  Continue mashing and add salt & pepper.  If I were to guess an amount I would say 2 teaspoons of each, but really this is up to you.  At this point taste your potatoes and see if you need anything more of anything.  Sometimes I will add a bit more half & half to make them creamier.

Oven Roasted Potatoes
(serves four)

1 pound of yukon gold potatoes
2 yellow onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Chop potatoes into small pieces.  Cut onions in half, remove skin, and slice lengthwise into half rings.   Toss and potatoes together in a large bowl with olive oil, 1 teaspoon each of salt & pepper and spread out over a baking sheet.  Bake for 30 – 40 minutes until crispy and serve hot out of the oven.

Note:  You can also use cold leftover baked potatoes for these – I did this recently for ‘breakfast potatoes’ (see photo above) and they were incredible… a great way to use up any leftovers!