Pro tip: Half & half lasts longer than milk, and cream lasts longer than half & half. I try to keep a little tiny carton in the fridge because you never know when you’ll need to add a splash of [dairy product] into a sauce or a pasta, but it’s not worth getting a whole jug of milk and watching it go bad.
Pro tip #2: You can make mashed potatoes. Yes, you in the corner who doesn’t cook much. It’s easy, it’s delicious, and it’s very very satisfying to do.
(I’m saying this because growing up, making “real” mashed potatoes was a Big Deal. We used the flake kind out of the box. I was so amazed when a previous roommate showed me… it’s really no harder to just make them for realsies.)
Here’s the whole deal.
You get a quantity of potatoes. If it’s just you, get two medium-sized brown ones, or three red ones (which are smaller.) If it’s you and a friend, three browns or five reds. And so on.
Peel ‘em or just wash ‘em really good (with water! not soap!!!) if you like skins in your mash. Then cut them into chunks. Size doesn’t matter (wink wink nudge nudge), it just helps them cook faster and be in your mouth sooner. I normally end up with cubes about an inch, two inches in size.
Put them in a saucepot and pour enough water in so that it covers the tops of all the potatoes. Heat over medium, medium-high, whatever, until the potatoes feel soft when you stick a fork in them.
Oh my stars and garters, are you almost done! You are!
Take the pot off the stove, drain the water out, and… drumroll… MASH THE POTATOES. With a fork or a wooden spoon or a fancy masher if you have one. Splash some of the aforementioned Emergency Dairy Product in there and two tablespoons of butter to help get things moving.
Too dry? A second splash of dairy. Too bland? More butter, salt, whatever. Your potatoes are cooked, they are soft and crumbly, and now you just make them taste like what you want. Cheese? Chives? Garlic? Have fun.
And oh my gosh, look at that, you have fresh homemade mashed potatoes and all you did was throw cut up potatoes in a pot, boil them, and add yums.
It’s a good feeling for your brain and also your tummy to make things to feed yourself.
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