Entry Level Thanksgiving: Start with the sides
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Growing up in the mid-atlantic, every autumn the air would grow fresh and crisp and the trees would erupt in color, and an outpouring of gratitude seemed the most natural expression of the joy the season founded in my chest. The giving part rang true as well; filled with love and delight in the season, I wanted to share the joy with generosity towards loved ones. At home as a child, this meant helping out in the kitchen as pies were made, pots were stirred, and gravy was reduced on the stove.
But when you’ve left the nest, Thanksgiving can be trickier. With Christmas only a month away, it’s not always feasible to travel back home for the feast and the family gathering--the song is I’ll be Home for Christmas, after all, not I’ll be Home for Thanksgiving, and Also for Christmas a Few Weeks Later. Many of us instead welcome invitations from friends with families in town to join their local celebrations, or we attend a gathering of friends trying to scrap together a meal in the spirit of the holiday on small budgets and without many of the kitchen supplies we hadn’t thought necessary in the days of ramen and meals-for-one.
But when you find yourself gratefully accepting a kindhearted invitation to someone’s home to join their holiday celebration, that rush of gratitude and urge to contribute comes pouring back. Yes, you can bring flowers and help do the dishes, but can’t you also help put something on the table, contribute to the holiday meal? Yes, yes you can. In fact, some stalwart sides seem perfectly designed for the entry level cook.
Start with mashed potatoes.
Mashed potatoes--and their cousins, vibrant sweet potatoes or yams--are warm, hearty, and welcome at the celebratory table. And despite the ever-growing list of variations and complications fueled by competing recipes all itching to stand out, they are delicious in their simplest form. And like many other recipes ideal for the entry level cook, they are safe to taste while preparing, so you can tweak and adapt to your own palate while you prepare.
Ingredients
Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes. How many? Depends on how generous a portion you want to make per guest. A half a large potato per guest is probably enough, but if your crew really likes the spuds then go ahead and get closer to a full potato per person.
Half-and-half, milk, and/or cream. You will need some dairy. A higher fat content means more yummy flavor, but too much heavy cream can make the mash too heavy, and mask the other nice flavors. For this reason I’d probably start with half and half, and switch to milk or cream later as you’re tasting and adjusting.
Salt and pepper.
Equipment
Must: A very big pot, like the one you use to boil pasta in, with a lid.
Helpful: A potato masher or potato ricer.
If I don’t have the helpful stuff? A big fork will do in a pinch.
How-to
Pull a stick or two of butter out of the fridge so the butter can come up to room temp and soften a bit before you need it. Pull your dairy product out too.
(Why? You won’t be able to incorporate hard chunks of cold butter into the mash, and you don’t want to cool the potatoes down by adding cold milk. While you’re mashing, you want to keep everything somewhat warm for a good smooth texture.)
Peel the potatoes and cut them up into big chunks. Stick them in your big pasta pot and add enough cold tap water to cover them, and put on the stove over high heat.
(Why can’t I just use hot tap water if I’m boiling them anyway? You can, but the potatoes will be creamier if they start off in cold water.)
Bring the water up to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
(What does that look like? A boil means big bouncing bubbles coming up, not just around the sides of the pot; a simmer means frequent little bubbles)
Cover the pot and let the potatoes simmer until they are tender, meaning you can stick a fork or sharp knife into them easily. The length of time will depend on the number of potatoes and size of the pot, but it will likely take about a half hour.
Drain the water, then return the potatoes to the pot and shake vigorously. Turn the heat back onto low, and cook off any remaining water that was clinging to the potatoes or the pot.
Over low heat, mash the potatoes in the pot until no lumps remain. Start adding your dairy, a good splash at a time, mashing to incorporate after each addition. Remember that you can always add more, but you can’t do much to un-soup them if you add much too much. Now start adding butter in big pats, mashing to incorporate, and add some salt and pepper.
At this point, all the various ingredients are in there to some extent! Start tasting. Does it just taste like potato, missing the yum--like you haven’t transformed the potato so much as just smooshed it? Add more butter and salt. Too thick and chalky, instead of silky and creamy? Add more milk or half-and-half. Need more of a punch? Salt or pepper are your friends. The end goal is a fluffy, smooth blend that is rich and tasty. If it’s smooth and you like the taste of it, it’s ready!
Next tier:
Want to get fancy? Add some rosemary, sour cream, garlic, or chives in step six.
How can I get it wrong?
Just choose the right potatoes to start. You want Russet or Yukon Gold--those big, rough, brown-skinned knobby potato-y potatoes. For this recipe, avoid those pretty little french things that are about the size of a golf ball (New Potatoes) or a thumb (Fingerlings) and have a smooth, glossy, yellow or red skin--they don’t have the right starch content and won’t break down into a smooth and creamy mash the way you want. Also, make sure you smoosh until there are no noticeable lumps left--you want to get the yummy butter and seasonings into every bite!