Mashed potatoes have always been one of my favorite comfort foods and side items to any meal, especially in the fall and around the holidays. No holiday dinner is quite complete without this traditional and delicious dish.
Growing up, we had our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners with my mom’s side of the family in Colorado. We all live within a couple of miles of each other, so travel is easy to say the least. Plus my cousins and I are all relatively close in age, so holidays are always a blast! Each family contributes something a little different each year to the feast, but my Uncle is always in charge of making the mashed potatoes. His mashed potatoes are the absolute most delicious potatoes I have ever had in my life. I’m pretty sure that if he decided to take a year off, we would all boycott the whole holiday! They are just that good!
I recently had a casual dinner party with my boyfriend’s family and decided that mashed potatoes would be the perfect addition to the meal. I was serving a brown sugar and Dijon mustard glazed salmon and pine nut and Parmesan roasted asparagus, so I thought these mashed potatoes would pair perfectly. My Uncle’s recipe has never been completely revealed, so I have been experimenting a lot trying to get the mashed potatoes just perfect! One thing I know is that he uses russet potatoes, but as I have been exploring different recipes, so many people recommend the red potatoes. You can make this recipe with either russet or red potatoes, but I have to say, after making this recipe quite a few times now just this week, I stand behind the russet potatoes!