Decadent Mashed Potatoes, and Bailie’s Nurturing Visit!

Hi everyone and please click on the title of this post to read more. First off, I would like to invite you to celebrate with me because today is the one year anniversary of the Take Back the Kitchen Blog! Thank you for sticking around and I hope you have been enjoying reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing and sharing my cooking antics with you.

So, my niece Bailie came home tonight from Colorado where she has been living. I am so looking forward to being able to make her some of the dishes she grew to love while living with us the past few years (see Bailie and find out what those dishes are in the video below). I know that cooking and eating these dishes will bring us together as a family with a shared past and make her visit really special for all of us, to feel like she is home.

One of the reasons I began this overcoming-the-obstacles-to-cooking-journey was because of the nurturing aspects of cooking that so many women around me felt they were lacking. For many of us, it would be a thrill to hear a friend or relative returning from a long trip or move to say, “Oh, please make me your famous _______!” It can make us feel like mother earth (or father earth), a true nurturing celebrity. Reminding ourselves of how good this can make us feel may help us persevere when we are feeling frustrated or challenged during our cooking trials.

Here is one of Bailie’s favorites, rich, mashed potatoes, that I plan to make for the holidays while she is here. Enjoy!:

Decadent Mashed Potatoes:

6 large baking potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 ” cubes and boiled or steamed until tender
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 stick of unsalted butter

Mash all together with a fork, potato masher or mixer but do not over mix or they will get gummy. Serve immediately. If you have a crock pot, transfer them into it and leave on warm until you are ready to serve.
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