Holding mashed potatoes for service

[chefteldanielle]

Congratulations..
I bet the party was marvelous..
Danielle

[marmalady]

Thanks, danielle - It was great - one of those times when everything just 'clicked'; only 'disaster' was when the smoke alarm went off as I was searing the tuna aps - I just went on my merry way, and all the guests and hostesses were busily fanning the alarms and looking for the breaker box!

How is your new business going? The FoodTV website has a discussion group re catering and personal cheffing, if you want to check that out; lots of interesting comments re the 'personal chef' organization.

[chefteldanielle]

Now that's what i call Entertainment..
My business is doing fine..
Iam looking for a new kitchen..
The one I have now is not working out...
But Iam getting many jobs..
Thanks for the info about the discussion group..
Danielle

[CulianryMan]

This info is a little late for you but maybe in the future.

Mashed Potatoes for 6 people should hold fine in a crock pot as long as it is on a setting that will keep your spuds around 140 degrees any hotter and any longer then a few hours you will find the starch begin to change and you will lose that nice color and texture.

I also recommend that you add your Chives and Horseradish just prior to serving, The chlorophyll in the chives will die fast and will not be as eye appealing as when they are add last, also the oils in the flavors of these 2 ingredients will lose their intensity. So I recommend that you re-season and add the chives and horseradish right before plating. Even use some of the chives as a garnish for your spuds.


"What No Spell Check"

Chef Rick

[ShawtyCat]

Found this on the Cooks Illustrated Website:

Is it possible to make mashed potatoes ahead of time and keep them warm while I prepare the rest of the meal?


Everyone agrees that mashed potatoes taste best when they are hot, freshly mashed, and still in the pot. As they cool, and their starches harden, mashed potatoes sacrifice much of their creamy fluffiness, becoming, over the space of a couple of hours, positively leaden. Yet it's not always possible to make them at the last minute. Here's our method for keeping mashed potatoes hot until serving time:

Make the potatoes with 1/4 additional, half-and-half, or cream, depending on your preference then turn them into a glass serving bowl or whatever vessel can be fit snugly over a pot containing about 3 inches of barely simmering water. Cover them flush with a damp, lintfree kitchen towel, a layer of plastic wrap, and a pot lid or tight band of aluminum foil. The potatoes will hold beautifully for up to two hours.


It may be too late for you to use but I thought it would benefit a few others.

Jodi

[chefboy2160]

Out of all the ideas Ive seen here I like Petes twice baked method the best . Done properly these are bulletproof .

[alexia]

When I was a kid, my mother used to make the twice baked potatoes from time to time, not because of the timing convenience, but because we loved them. I still make them from time to time simply because they're so good.

Which brings up another question. All the recipes & mavens insist that potatoes should be riced or milled (my mother used a masher), but I find it works fine to use my mixer with a paddle at a slow-medium speed if the potatoes are cooked thoroughly. What do chefs in restaurants do? I can't believe the mill or rice a gazillion lbs of potatoes!

[chefboy2160]

I use a mixer with a wire whip . Here is my twice baked favorite .
Wash and brush with butter Idaho baking potatoes , place on sheet pan and bake till just done . While still hot cut in 1/2 and scoop out into mixers bowl . Add the fowlowing to your taste ,
salt , white pepper , sour cream , cheddar cheese , finely diced green onions and half and half ( bacon is good but there are so many vegans now ) Mix but dont overmix! Pipe or spoon back into potato skins on sheet pans , brush with melted butter and sprinkle with paprika . Chill and reheat in a 350 oven till browned on top . Nothing but raves on this one . Doug

[Suzanne]

Every restaurant I've worked at used an 8-quart food mill. And we'd mix in the other ingredients by hand. But those were all fine-dining, and none was really high volume.

At the hors d'oeuvre factory, when we needed mash for a filling, we'd cook off 25 lbs of potatoes (or more) and dump them in the 80-Q mixer with the paddle-- no one could possibly have mashed and mixed in everything otherwise.

Am I the only one that saves my butter wrappers for storing mashed potatoes? I learned it from my grandmother. When storing the mashers in a bain-marie (or crockpot) cover them with the waxed paper that the butter came in, butter side down. Prevents "crust" and traps heat. Also, I was always told to use a layer of parchment before covering w/ foil. Anyone know why? I don't.

[Suzanne]

That's what we did at Match, at Soma Park, etc. What used to get me hysterical, though, was that during service the potatoes would sometimes start to rise in the bain -- there was an air pocket from plopping them in -- and it would look like a souffle on the shelf over the burners.

The parchment layer stops the food from reacting chemically with the aluminum foil. If you notice pin-prick holes in the foil, it's because the acid in the food ate through the metal; this is even worse when the container is also metal (in that case, I think there's a tiny electrical current generated, but I could be wrong).