Found another bench to show off the pug. I’m liking these bench photos. I should find more. :)
Because you asked, my Garlic Cauliflower Mashed Potato recipe. I love it because it’s make-ahead which means all it needs to do is reheat the day of the big meal. It makes 4 quarts of mashed potatoes – I know, I know, but my family loooooves mashed potatoes. It perfectly fills my 4 quart Corningware dish.
Ingredients:
8-10 large waxy potatoes (I love Yukon Golds for this)
1 large head cauliflower
3-8 cloves garlic (depends on how much garlic you like!)
1 cup sour cream
1 box cream cheese
4 slices of sandwich bread (or equivalent other fresh bread – foccacia’s great on it)
4 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp dried thyme
Day before: Peel and cut up potatoes into 1″ chunks and place in large soup/stock pot. Cut up cauliflower into florets roughly the same size as the potatoes, and add to pot. Toss in garlic cloves. Fill rest of pot with water (make sure veggies are covered with at least 1″ of water), add 2 tbsp of salt to water and bring to a boil then simmer for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes and cauliflower are fork-tender. Drain. Return drained veggies to warm pot then add sour cream and cream cheese along with more salt and pepper to taste and mash together with a potato masher until smooth and creamy and a little runny. (Don’t worry – the potatoes will firm up in the fridge overnight). Pour/scoop the potatoes into an oven-safe 4 quart casserole OR two 9×12 casserole dishes, if you don’t have anything larger. In a food processor, blitz up the bread until it creates small breadcrumbs. Add dried thyme (or other herb(s) of your choice) to the crumbs and blitz once to mix then, keeping the processor running, add the melted butter in a thin stream just until combined. Spread buttery crumbs over the top of the potatoes and refrigerate dish until the next day.
Day of: Put potato dish on counter to warm up to room temperature for 30-60 minutes before baking. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes to an hour until hot, slightly golden brown at edges and breadcrumb mixture has crisped. Serve hot with most meats. Make a gazillion servings – okay, probably 20 or so.
