potatoes...

Yesterday I blogged about German food or the lack thereof in this area.  Today I asked myself what exactly, if anything do I actually miss that I consider German food?  The answer that came to me was my Aunt Dorie's mashed potatoes.  I used to delight in watching her prepare them.  

I'm sure that in her youth she had learned to make them using a wire potato masher, but sometime in the 1950s she acquired an electric hand held mixer.

Her recipe was simple - peel and cut up medium to large white potatoes (at least one per person), boil them in salt water until they are tender.  If you can easily stick a fork in one they are done.  Drain the water and pour the potatoes into a large bowl.  Add lots of butter, at least a stick, cut up, and a little milk, salt and pepper to taste, and beat those potatoes into a creamy frothy mound of mashed (actually whipped) potatoes.  Put them in a serving bowl with a little more butter floating on top and bring them to the table still piping hot.

Now here's where it gets a little more complicated.  While these potatoes are fine with butter and/or gravy, the real feast is to cover them with homemade beef and noodles, or if you prefer, chicken and noodles. Unfortunately I don't have my Aunt Dorie's recipe for either of those. 

So there you have it.  My idea of good German food is mashed potatoes topped with noodles.  Not very sophisticated but oh, so delicious.