Holding mashed potatoes for service

[marmalady]

Okay, I admit it, I'm embarassed! For the party I'm doing on the 16th, they want mashed taters with horseradish/chives; I want to do as much preprep as possible, meaning I would like to make the potatoes in advance, and then reheat them on site. Tried it at home over the weekend, and they flopped! Made the mash, then piped them all pretty on a sheet pan, cooled in fridge. When I reheated them in the oven, I watched them turn into little puddles with squiggles! I've always made potatoes on site before, so they were served right when made, but there's just not enough time/help to do this.

The only things I can figure are 1) too much cream/butter; 2) the cooked potatoes sat in the water a little too long, as I got a phone call and forgot about them - ? absorbed too much water?

Thanks in advance!

[kuan]

Maybe you should be thinking Duchesse Potatoes.

Kuan

[Jill Reichow]

I know this doesn't answer your question. But, when I make mashed 'tatoes in advance, I just put them in my biggest crockpot on low....and they keep just a good as fresh. Imagine it won't work for the quantity you need, but what about one of those big roasters?

[Suzanne]

Jill has a good point: keep them hot, or at least warm. Wherever I've worked, the dinner mash was made about 3-4PM, put in a bain, and kept warm until service. Then they were scooped out as needed and reheated to serving temp. Cooling them makes them, well, yucky.

(It's not a problem of what's in them, really, but of how temperature changes play havoc with their composition.) Of course, you want to keep them out of the danger zone. But you knew that!

[marmalady]

Thanks, Suzanne - Do you think the crockpot would work? The party's only 6 people, so there's plenty room in it. Maybe if I lined the pot (ceramic) with foil to prevent crusting?

[Jill Reichow]

marmalady, I have kept potatoes in the crockpot for several hours without any crusting. I think that keeping the lid on until you are ready prevents the crusting. A quick stir and they are ready to put out however you need them.

[marmalady]

Thanks, all - I'm feeling much better about this - I'll just pipe 'em onto the plates from the crockpot.

[Pete]

The other option would be to do a twiced baked potato. That way you have mashed potatoes and an edible container for serving them in.

[CampChef]

Just an FYI, when I've held MPs for long periods, they tend to set up, especially when made with real butter and whole milk or buttermilk (the BEST way to do it). So I make them a bit on the thin side to compensate for the setting up process.

[chefteldanielle]

If the party is at 7 PM or so..
What I do is prepare the mashed potatoes and add extra cream and butter. Then I put it in my cambro..Covered with aluminum foil
By the time it's service time they are perfect.

Since mashed potatoes dry out slightly, you must add more cream while you have them sit in the cambro.

I usually leave my kitchen about 3 hours before the party starts.

I just made them this weekend for a party of six and they were perfect..
Danielle

[marmalady]

Chefdanielle - Cambro? Is that the big plastic containers? Do they stay warm - or how do you reheat?

[chefteldanielle]

The food stays either hot or cold.. If you want to keep the cambro cold you can put all your prepped items in pans and finish the dishes at the party..
Or you can take everything already prepared and hot all ready for service..
It keeps the dishes very hot for 6- 8 hours or so.
Mine was given to me by a retired caterer who thought I would really be able to use it.
And she was right..
I use it for everything.
I believe the company's website is Cambro.com.
I think for $600 you can pick up a double one.
They are very durable and easy to transport..
Great advertising for this company ha..
Good luck..
Danielle

[marmalady]

It's been brought to my attention from my original question that I may be running a home-based catering business - not!!

The party I'm doing this weekend is a) for my hubbie's boss;
b) who is also a personal friend; c) she's paying me for food costs and my time.

As most of you know, I will be starting my new job in two weeks (FINALLY!!!), as 'assistant manager/chef' (actually got my title pinned down from the bosses!) of a new restaurant. So, no time for catering!

Just wanted to clarify, home-catering is not my bag of tricks - left a job working for a home-caterer because I didn't feel comfortable with it, and would never jeopardize myself, my home or my clients with working out of my home.

[Gearóid]

Don't be embarassed.

Reheating is not a very good idea, if you can, do them 20 minutes before serving and keep the mash warm ie in bain marie for example. This would work best perhaps also the type of Potato you used could be a problem. As for the ratio of your ingredients, try the following as a rule.

900g (2lb) Potatoes
300ml (2pints) of Cream
1-2 eggs or 1 whole egg and 1 yolk
25g-50g (1-2oz) butter
Salt and pepper

for the above just add 4 tablespoons of Horesradish.
Garnish with chives (do not put them in 20 min before they may go gary on you and spoil a very nice mash potato dish.

Happy cooking hope this helps
Gearóid

[marmalady]

Solved the problem rather easily by just cooking the taters on site. Thanks, all, for the suggestions.