Basics of potatoes

potatoes are a very versatile vegetable or starch and fairly healthy if you dont pile them with too much fattening stuff. The easiest way to cook them is boiling. Baking is a close second but takes some watching and there are range of techniques for varying the results. Mashed is always popular.

In almost all cases, the skin can be left on and has a lot of vitamins in it, so we generally trim any spots and leave it there. For mashed, some people boil whole (I don't know why whole instead of cut up, but they do it) or cut up with the skins on, then run under cold water and peel before mashing or "ricing" (which is sometimes mashing or sometimes more like super fine shopping) in order to get a smooth white (or, these days, yellow with the discovery of Yukon Gold as a buttery flavored potato with a nice smooth texture).

I don't know the truth of it, but Grandmother always insisted than any greenish potato sections be trimmed away as toxic. I haven't noticed them to be noticeably toxic when I haven't caught them before cooking, but they are a bit more bitter than the rest of the potato, so might as well follow Grandma's advice.

If potato is getting wrinkly, cut in half and place the open sides in a dish of water until potato expands and firms up.

Boiling: clean, trim away and "eyes" or root starters and brown spots, and cut potatoes into large chunks (if left whole, large potatoes will take significantly longer to cook, up to about 45 minutes) and place in pan with enough water to fully cover. Bring water to a boil (or you can start boiling the water while you are washing and cutting the potatoes). Reduce water to a high simmer, cover (or let the steam moisten the kitchen in dry conditions; covering is just more energy-saving in this case, unlike for rice where the cover is vital). Depending ont he size of the potatoes and pieces, the potato should be tender and easily pierced with a fork in 15 to 20 minutes. Some recipes call for adding salt but potato absorbs and hides most added salt so, if you want the salty flavor, add it in the last couple of minutes of cooking.

They can be served as is with a selection of toppings, traditionally salt and pepper or a sprinkle of parsley, butter, and/or any topping that you might put on a baked potato. We usually mash it lightly with a fork before adding our own toppings. Don't mash for others unless it is to be served as mash potatoes, as they may prefer to cut with the fork and eat it in solid chunks.

Basic baked potatoes: This can be done in a microwave by wrapping whole potatoes in plastic wrap and cooking awhile, so common in fact that many microwaves have a potato button for the purpose. While not bad and even great for cooking quickly for one person, microwave baked potatoes have a very different texture than oven baked potatoes.

There are many ways to bake a potato. Some people butter and/or salt the skin before wrapping in foil but in my experience this can toughen the texture of the skin which I don't care for, so we wash and trim the whole potatoes, wrap them in foil, bake at 375 or 400 degrees for at least half hour for small potatoes, up to 1 hr for the largest, until a fork goes in easily. Serve still wrapped to keep the potatoes steamy hot as long as possible. Sometimes a cook will open the potato just enough to cut down the center whichtest the doneness as well as providing a well for toppings.

Basked potato toppings
Basic: butter and/or sour cream and/or fresh chopped chives or green onions
Classic1: steamed broccoli and shredded cheese or cheese sauce
Classic2: chili 9without beans, typically) and shredded cheese and/or sour cream
Options: saute'd onions

Mashed potatoes have the most variations but generally means that they are served to the family in a bowl already mashed, usually with added ingredients mixed in, most commonly milk (or half and half or cream) and butter, salt, and pepper. We usually mash ours with the electronic "hand mixer" (as opposed to freestanding mixer) but there are potato mashing tools that also work well if the potatoes are sufficiently well cooked. A couple of tablespoons of milk per potato is usually sufficient. Add ing more milk or richer milk products will make a smoother texture. Restaurants like adding mashed roasted garlic. We often put shredded cheese on top but never mix it in unless we are turning leftovers into cheesy potato soup.

Potato soup:
If not mashed, dice leftover or cooked potatoes and put in a pan with
about 1 c. milk and
1 c chicken broth or water
2 T to 1/4 c. butter
1 -2 ribs finely diced celery
1 finely diced yellow onion or chives or green onions or leeks
For cheesy potato soup add 1 c. shredded cheddar or colby and/or soft cheese such as cream cheese
Add just enough additional liquid to cover
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered at least 1/2 hr. Use a masher or meat tenderizer to mash some of the poatoes if they aren't already. This will act as a thickener. We don't turn the soup back into mashed potatoes, but we do like it thick.
Add pepper, parsely, chicken boullion or salt, savory to taste.
Serving options: sprinkle with cheese, fresh pepper, or fresh chopped onions or chives