Creamy Rosemary Mashed Potatoes

As the self-proclaimed world's biggest fan of the mighty potato I'm always on the lookout for new potato recipes. I have loads of tater recipes already so when I go looking for a new recipe it's got to have something special. A certain 'je ne sais quoi' if you will to jazz up my favourite veg!

In the past few weeks the rosemary plant that I've been growing in my home veggie garden is flourishing (ie. HUGE!!!). It was so big this past week that I had to think of some new recipes to use up my bounty. And thus the marriage between spud and a pretty little gal named Rosemary began.

This past Tuesday I made Grilled Rosemary Balsamic Chicken Thighs and needed a side dish to go along with it. You'll see that in the chicken post that the thigh is sitting on top of these potatoes!! One would think that two dishes featuring rosemary may cause Rosemary Overload, but no! Both dishes had great flavour but not overwhelming. Well, I've gotta tell you that these potatoes were deeelish! Rich due to the Parmesan and cream cheese with a hint of rosemary!

The kicker is that they're even better when you reheat them the next evening! So I hear. Strictly hypothetical speaking, of course, but .... say it's 10pm and you're so famished from trying to be 'good' and not eating anything after dinner that your stomach aches so much that you just HAVE to eat something or you'll be awake aallllll night. With no food in your stomach and nothing better to do you do the only thing you can think of. Chat with your husband (who is trying to sleep) about really mundane things and after 45 minutes of this chatter your husband keeps sighing and muttering under his breath something about 'Why me?", zipping it and working in the morning.

See, if that person, who shall remain nameless and hypothetical, had eaten a little bit of these potatoes (like she did the following night) she would have made her stomach happy and, in turn, made her husband happy. Spuds are miracle foods, I tell ya! They can even help marriages! Hypothetically speaking, of course.

So, if you're in the mood for a rich, creamy side dish with a hint of rosemary give these a try. Your spouse will thank you for it.

Creamy Rosemary Mashed Potatoes



Yield: 6 servings

2lbs white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tbsp butter or margarine
2 oz plain cream cheese
1/3 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
to taste - salt and pepper

Place potatoes and garlic cloves in a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, approximately 30 minutes. Drain.

Return potatoes to the pot and add butter, cream cheese, Parmesan and sour cream. Mash well until there are no lumps (I always mash by hand. Using an electric mixer at too high a speed can cause mashed potato glue - yuck!).

Add enough milk so that potatoes aren't too thick (I used just over 1/4 cup). Add fresh rosemary and salt & pepper. Serve hot.

Note: Next time I think I'll try making this dish a day ahead then reheating it in the oven. This allows the flavours time to blend together and less work right before supper. A little extra milk may have to be added if the potatoes are a little thick after sitting.