This Week's Recipe of the Week features great tips for making mashed potatoes ahead of time. Along with a wonderful recipe for mashed potatoes there are tips on how you can prepare your favorite mashed potato recipe before the guests arrive and how to keep them warm. See our tips on how to freeze and then revive you recipe, so you can prepare it way ahead of time.

Mashed Potatoes

What you need:

• 8 large Russet potatoes (red ones)
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 1/3 cup of chives, chopped - optional
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Additional butter
• Paprika

What you do:

1. Peel potatoes and cut into large cubes. Place in a pot with enough water to cover the potatoes. Add some salt to the pot. Gently boil the potatoes until they are fork tender.
2. Drain the potatoes in a colander. Place in a large mixing bowl, add the sour cream and cream cheese. Using a mixer beat until smooth. Add the butter, chives, salt and pepper to taste.
3. Place the potatoes in a greased two quart casserole. Dot with butter and sprinkle with paprika . Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
   
   Serves 8 people

This recipe can be made the day before dinner and refrigerated in a crock-pot. Then, on the serving day, just turn on the crock-pot at the low setting and slowly cook the potatoes for about 2-3 hours (to be ready when the rest of the dinner is ready).

Freezing (and un-freezing)
Mashed Potatoes:

These potatoes (or your favorite recipe) can also be frozen. The morning that they are to be served, the potatoes should be thawed. the potatoes should be covered with aluminum foil, poke holes in the top of the foil for the steam to escape. Place in a 300 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until heated through. You can also drizzle 4 tablespoons of butter over the thawed potatoes BEFORE placing them in the oven.

Comments:

How I reheated the mashed potatoes....
From: Julie
The mashed potato recipe sounds great! I can wait to try it. At Thanksgiving I had to transport the mashed potatoes to my brothers and wait until everything was ready to get them hot. Because my brother has a small range and we had other things cooking, I couldn't make them there. What I did was to boiled the potatoes at home, peel them and rice them while they where still hot. then I added some olive oil to them and mixed it alittle. Later at my brother's I added the hot milk, and a little butter and salt. I blended it in the blender and placed it in a baking dish. It came out as if it had just been made!
Julie

Creamy Potato Soup
This warm soup is a perfect selection for lunch or dinner. My children LOVE potatoes so I know this will be a very popular dish along with home baked rolls -you can find the recipe for Sue's Yeast Rolls in our library

Garlic, Garlic, Garlic:
Exceptional Recipes for the World's Most Indispensable Ingredient
by Linda Griffith, Fred Griffith

Inspired by the success of their James Beard Award-winning work, Onions, Onions, Onions, authors Fred and Linda Griffith now take on another stinky favorite: garlic. Shunned for centuries even in France and Italy because of its strong flavor and odor, garlic was considered a low-class seasoning, only winning wide acceptance in cooking outside working-class kitchens after World War II. Garlic, Garlic, Garlic provides detailed guidance for buying, storing, and preparing garlic, and explains the pros and cons of using a garlic press. There are also 200-plus recipes, many for ethnic dishes rich in garlic. There is Brandade, the creamy French dish made with salt cod, and Spanish Sopa de Ajo, a pungent peasant soup of garlic, bread, and oil with poached eggs. Even cozy macaroni and cheese is punctuated with three pressed, plump cloves of garlic. Dessert is not forgotten- -how about ice cream topped with golden, caramelized Honey-Poached Garlic Sauce for something really different? While only experienced cooks may want to attempt dishes like Veal Brisket Roasted with Garlic, Onions, and Plums, any garlic lover with modest skills can whip up the Special Marinara Sauce or grill the Flank Steak with Balsamic Vinegar Marinade.

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50 Best Mashed Potatoes
by Sarah Reynolds

50 Best Mashed Potatoes has them all, from traditional favorites like Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes and Mashed Potatoes with Cream Gravy to new classics like Chipotle Mashed Potatoes with Cilantro Butter and Mashed Potatoes with Wild Mushroom Ragout. Also included are recipes for mashed potato--cheese combinations and potato-vegetable purées, as well as recipes using leftover mashed potatoes (should you be so lucky). From the most basic to the most elaborate, the leanest to the richest, the humblest to the most elegant, there's a mashed potato for every occasion.

Stuffed Baked Potatoes
This week's Recipe of the Week is a terrific addition to any holiday meal. Stuffed Baked Potatoes is a big hit for our Christmas dinner.

Homemade Mashed Potatoes
Today's restaurants are serving all kinds of variants on this traditional recipe- from garlic mashed potatoes to chicken mashed potatoes. This week we are paying homage to the spud that made it all happen- good ole fashion Mashed Potatoes. Freshly made creamy mashed potatoes are nothing like the boxed variety. They are so rich, and fluffy that you can lose your fork in them.   The little bit of extra time it takes to make homemade mashed potatoes is worth it.  Ask your kids!!