One potato,…

…two potato, three potato, four!!!

Potatoes sit high on my list of comfort foods; no matter how you fix them, they’re just good. And usually quite easy to prepare.

Recently, I ran across a recipe calling for leftover mashed potatoes. I didn’t have any, so made a small, fresh batch, and put them in the fridge (once cool) for a couple of hours. Sneaky, huh? But before I get into the preparation, a word about baking potatoes.

I’m guessing most of us bake potatoes by (1) wrapping them in foil (after, or without, rubbing them in some cooking oil), or (2) just poking some holes in them and placing them on a baking sheet. I plead guilty to both. However, after seeing several videos in which chefs placed the pierced potatoes on a bed of rock salt, I did a bit of research, then decided to try that. BINGO!!!

Baking potatoes on a bed of rock salt will yield a demonstrably fluffier potato, ideal for mashed potatoes, ricing them to make Gnocchi, or just splitting and eating. And, if you’re one who likes twice-baked potatoes, or maybe a take on stuffed potato skins, when you bake potatoes on a bed of rock salt the skin is decidedly crispier and firmer.

I whole-heartedly recommend you give this a try, if you don’t already bake them that way.

Now for the fun part!

Leftover Mashed Potatoes

Pre-heat your oven to 350°F.

Start with about 2 cups of leftover mashed potatoes, but don’t worry if you have more or less. This is a judge-it as you go recipe.

To the potatoes, add one egg and a splash of cream, half-n-half, or milk. Mix it up. It should be thinner than the potatoes were, but not soupy.

Add about 1/4 cup flour (and you can use a gluten-free option, if you prefer). You want the mixture to have the consistency of muffin batter, so don’t put all the flour in at once. If you over-do it, add some more milk/cream.

And here’s the really fun part. Add herbs, cheeses (cheddar, Parmesan, Gruyere, one or all), green chilies, bacon bits – whatever you want and like – and combine it all.

Grease a 12-count muffin tin, and fill each spot to just below the rim.

Sprinkle a bit of cheese on the top of each, then put the pan in the pre-heated oven, for around 20 minutes, until the potatoes are slightly golden on top.

Remove them from the oven, let them cool for a few minutes, then you can lift them out individually, or invert the pan and they should come-a-tumbling.

Enjoy them warm, or you can put them in foil, then in the fridge. To reheat, open the foil and put them in the oven at 350° for about 10 minutes.

But what about two potato, three potato, four?!?!