Cookbook Review: Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

In the beginning of my marriage, I once in a while would be making mashed potatoes and think "I should make these really special for Steve. Maybe I'll add some sour cream and chopped green onions, and maybe even some crumbled bacon." I'd be so excited to serve him my special mashed potatoes, I'd dish him up while grinning from ear to ear and wait for his reaction.

And nothing.

I'd get all offended and be like "aren't these mashed potatoes SOOO GOOD?! Don't you love that I added sour cream and bacon? JUST FOR YOU TO MAKE THEM SPECIAL!" and without even flinching he'd be like "Isn't that how mashed potatoes are supposed to be?"

Turns out his mom never made regular mashed potatoes with butter and milk. Nope. Every time she made mashed potatoes she always added onions, sour cream, grated cheese and sometimes bacon. He had been ruined for regular mashed potatoes. All these years of being married I've had to ween him off of the cheese and bacon, but could never ditch the sour cream. I always wince every time I make mashed potatoes, seeing all the high-fat sour cream and butter being mashed in, but he really won't eat them any other way.

And enter Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes. All the creamy tangyness of sour cream and about an eight of the fat. Seriously! 8 grams of fat in a 1/4 cup of sour cream and 1 gram in a 1/4 cup of buttermilk. That's a switch I'm willing to try.

Recipe from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast
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Serves 4

1 1/2 lbs (4 medium) potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
Coarse salt and fresh pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp butter

Peel and chop potatoes, and place them in a large saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Turn heat to high, and bring to a boil. Add 1 tbsp of salt and cook until very tender about 20-25 minutes. Drain and place back in the same pot. Mash with a potato masher, then add buttermilk and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Mash until smooth and combined.

Click here for printable version of Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
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THE RESULTS?
Oh Martha, what a great idea! The mashed potatoes were creamy and full of flavor but lower fat because of the buttermilk. I've FINALLY converted my husband! He agreed that these fluffy mashed potatoes were just as good as the full fat ones.

One feature I like about Everyday Food: Great Food Fast is that some of the recipes have suggestions of what to serve it with, like I started doing here on my blog. I really like that because it takes the guess work out of it for you. Meal planning is much quicker and easier when someone tells you what goes well with that dish. These potatoes were the suggested side dish for serving with Lemon-Parsley Pork Chops and they went fabulously together. If you start the potatoes first, both dishes will finish at the same time.

Meal Ideas: