The Best Mashed Potatoes I've Ever Eaten

Enough said.

 

This potato dish has been a constant at my family's holiday dinners since I was but a young girl first developing an early preference for salty over sweet.  It is the best.  And really, that makes sense when you read the ingredients listing.  Mashed potatoes with cream cheese, sour cream, and butter?  Hello!  I'll take a third helping please.

This side dish perfectly complements any turkey dinner (gravy tastes amazing on it!), ham feast, or really any dinner made up of anything at all.  It's decadent.  The recipe comes from the amazing Best of Bridge cookbook series that I grew up on.  My granny used to make them, my mom makes them, and now I make them too.  The best part is that this is a great holiday dinner make-ahead dish that you can freeze and then just thaw before putting in the oven.

I will just mention that there are two schools of thought on how to mash the potatoes for this dish.  The first would be to use a potato masher and really just mash the heck out of the potatoes manually, and then add the sour cream, cream cheese, and seasonings and then go crazy with the potato masher again.  The second method would be to use an electronic hand mixer and whip the potatoes into a frenzy, and then add all of the secondary ingredients and whip, and whip, and whip some more.  The Hubby prefers it the second way, and this is also the easiest way to do it, so this is what happens in my house.  The consistency when you whip them is really smooth and creamy, while if you mash manually it seems to come out a bit fluffier.  The world is your oyster.

I hope you enjoy these potatoes as much as I enjoy them more times per year than I should.

Merry Christmas / Joyeux Noel / Happy Festivus!  Here's the recipe:

The Best Mashed Potatoes I've Ever Eaten

Holiday Dinner Make-Ahead Dish:  Definitely...can even be frozen!

Serves:  10 - 12

Ingredients

• 5 lbs (2.5 kg) potatoes
• 8 oz. (250 g) low-fat cream cheese
• 1 cup (250 ml) fat-free sour cream
• 2 tsp. (10 ml) onion salt
• 1 tsp. (5 ml) salt
• pinch of pepper
• 2 tbsp. (30 ml) butter

Directions
Cook and mash potatoes.  Add all ingredients, except butter, and combine.  Put into large greased casserole.  Dot with butter.  Bake, uncovered, at 350F for 30 minutes.  If making ahead, cover and refrigerate or freeze.  Thaw before baking.

Recipe Source:  The Best of Bridge "Elsie's Potatoes"