Dispatch from the Mashed Potato Lab

My research into various methods of making mashed potatoes continues. An update on my findings:

Using a Crock-Pot (the ultimate slacker appliance) on the Low setting, even overnight, will not cook potatoes (or other root vegetables) completely. It just doesn’t get hot enough. However, cooking on High for around 5 hours seems to work OK. The Crock-Pot probably uses less energy than boiling potatoes on the stove top (I have an electric stove – ugh) and doesn’t heat up your kitchen as much on those hot days when you don’t feel like cooking.

I haven’t yet tried boiling potatoes in the microwave — the batches I’ve been making have been too large to fit in there.

The Yukon Gold batch was mighty tasty.

I’ve tried two methods of mashing: stand mixer vs. food mill. The mixer method thoroughly whips those taters into shape, leaving a smooth texture. I mix them with the flat beater, then the wire whip; if you like your potatoes a little lumpy, just use the flat beater. The food mill (using the coarsest disc) takes about the same amount of time, uses no electricity, and gives you a flakier texture than the mixer – similar to what you’d get using a ricer.

Cleanup: Since I don’t have a dishwasher, washing the big mixer bowl and beater parts is more of a production than washing the food mill. Hand-washing a Crock-Pot is always a pain in the ass because it’s so heavy and slippery, but cleanup after boiling potatoes in it isn’t so awful because there’s no sticky mess. (I always use a plastic liner when making something really nasty like chili in my Crock-Pot.)

Marinara Sauce

I adapted this recipe from one I found on the Williams-Sonoma website.

• 2.5 lb. tomatoes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp. oregano
• 2 Tbsp. basil
• Salt and pepper to taste

This is the point in the recipe where I attempted to puree the tomatoes using the infamous Martha Stewart food mill (see below). Because the spinning part is about half an inch from the bottom, it took me almost an HOUR to smash the tomatoes completely, and no matter what I did I still had chunks left over. I would have been better off using my blender.

The original recipe tells you to first sauté the garlic in the olive oil, add the remaining ingredients and cook on the stove top (add the basil at the very end). Since I didn’t feel like slaving over the stove, I threw everything in my Crock-Pot (set on High) and did something else for four hours.

The Crock-Pot method worked well for the most part, but I will make some changes for my next batch of sauce. When cooking with a Crock-Pot there is no reduction, so the sauce was really runny; next time I’ll crack the lid open a bit. Also, there was really no point in adding any olive oil; it just floated there on top. Finally, I will not add the basil until the end of cooking.

I froze most of the sauce and put the remainder in the fridge to eat later. The sauce reheated and reduced nicely on the stove top a few days later. I added some fresh sliced shiitakes from the farmers’ market (buy the ugly ones, they’re cheaper). This sauce was yummy with some pasta and fresh parmesan.

This is a great thing to make in a big batch on a lazy Sunday afternoon and freeze it for later. Cooking in a Crock-Pot allows you to ignore it while it’s cooking, without burning the place down.