Glorious Garlic Mashed Potatoes

One of the best weddings (food wise) I have ever been to was in Cleveland, Ohio of all places. If you've been to Ohio you know that they don't have much to offer except Cedar Point, and, well, Cleveland. And even that is a stretch. But on this one magical evening Cleveland was transforemed into a miraculous place that offered nothing but amazingly delicious food. The wedding was held at the Cleveland Natural History Musueum, and let me tell you the food spread was incredable. Mountains of fish, antipasto, and slabs of meat. But most notable was the mashed potato bar. Yes, a bar consisting of mashed potatoes with a full line of toppings served in martini glasses. It was so good I completley forgot about the fact that I had attended the wedding solo, and my crippling fear of dying alone. IT WAS THAT GOOD.

Maybe the mashed potato bar would not be as life changing for some, but I really like mashed potatoes. I like them with everything. Really, everything. Pork chops, fried chicken, spaghetti, on top pizza. Mashed potatoes are economical. You can make a huge pot of mashed potatoes and eat them with weird combinations of food all week (at least I do). In addition to pairing them with basically anything I can find, I like to top them with delicious things such as roasted red peppers, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, caramelized onions, and kale (many toppings inspired by that legendary mashed potato bar).

In order for your own strange combinations to begin, here is my Glorious Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe!

Tools You'll Need

Large Sauce Pot

Knife and cutting board

Potato masher or hand beaters

Garlic Press

Ingredients

10 Medium russet potatoes*

8 Tbsp butter

1/2 Cup Milk

1/2 Cup sour cream

7 Garlic cloves (pressed)

1 Tbsp dried oregano

1 Tbsp thyme

Salt/Pepper to taste

First wash and chop the potatoes. You want hardy chunks. I do not peel my potatoes, the skin gives the dish more texture, but feel free to peel away if you prefer. Add them to boiling water and cook (about 20 minutes) until potatoes are soft but not falling apart. Drain potatoes and return them to pot. Add butter, milk, sour cream, and garlic and begin to blend. You can either use a basic potato masher, or a hand mixer. The basic masher will give you chunkier potatoes, and the hand mixer smoother, so it's up to you on your texture preference.

As for toppings, this time around I roasted red and yellow bell peppers (cut peppers, rub olive oil on them and put them in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes), sautéed kale, and fresh tomatoes. Finally, I grated some pecorino romano cheese on top of everything!

*I used russet potatoes (due to being extremely poor), but feel free to use any other variety. Red or yukon potatoes will give you creamer mashed potatoes.

Red Curry Noodles

Curries are one of my favorite dishes. Red, yellow, green, Asian, or Indian, it really doesn't matter to me. I'll eat whatever you put in front of me. One of my absolute favorite curries though is red curry. Interestingly enough Red Curry or Prig Gang Kua, is thought to be where many other curries have evolved from. Most have the same ingredient base, some with added ingredients to alter taste.

Years ago - due to my lack of money and addition to a red curry dish at a local Thai restaurant in Chicago - I decided I needed to learn how to make my own red curry. So I marched to the store and bought some red curry paste, noodles, coconut milk, and assorted veggies. I didn't know much about Asian cooking, but I knew the base ingredients for my addition. Once home I began to experiment. What was created was a delicious hybrid of red and panang curry.

Tools You'll Need

Sauce Pot

Pan

Wooden spoon

Ingredients

1 Lb rice noodles*

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Cloves garlic

1 Tsp ginger (grated)

2 Cups eggplant (quartered)

3 Cups broccoli (sliced long ways)

1 Cup red pepper (sliced into long strips)

1 Cup zucchini (quartered)

2 Tbsp(heaping) red curry* paste

1 14oz can coconut milk

2 Tbsp fish sauce

1/4 Cup basil (ribboned)

1 14oz package extra firm tofu

Cook the noodles first. Depending on the thickness of the rice noodle, you'll either soak or boil them. I used rather thick ones (1/4"), so I boiled mine in some salt water. After noodles are al dente place them in some cold water to stop the cooking, and prevent them from sticking together. Place aside.

Right before I begin the vegetables, I cook my tofu. Chop tofu into 1/2" squares. Add a tbsp or 2 of olive oil to a non-stick pan and cook tofu over medium heat. Place aside.

Heat olive oil on medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook for about a minute. Add vegetables and stir. Cook vegetable for about 4 minutes, then add red curry paste, stir, and saute for another 8 minutes. Once vegetables are almost to the texture that you prefer (I like mine to still have a bit of crispiness to them) add coconut milk, fish sauce, basil, and tofu. Cook for another 5 minutes. Place noodles into serving bowls, and add vegetable curry mix. Enjoy!

*Rice can be substituted for noodles.

*In the recipe I use a pre-made red curry paste, but you can make your own using this recipe.