Hosting Thanksgiving for mostly seniors, very traditional

[Anonymous]

What have you decided OP? I'm rooting for you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This might be a stupid question... but how do you get smooth mashed potatoes like you'd get in a store/box? I know two of the guests won't eat lumpy mashed potatoes. But I've only ever done chunky/skin on roasted garlic mashed potatoes because that's what we like. I don't have a hand mixer. Would a stand mixer with the hard metal paddle be good for potatoes, or would they go gluey? Or is the trick to add more liquid?

Cook it on Wednesday plus the skins- then do a twice baked on Thanksgiving - pie plates and stick butter on mashed and whatever on the baked with skins. Peel the potatoes. Or use a knife and slice off skin parts-use for baked potato in skins for others. That's quicker than peeling. Chop the potatoes for the mashed into 1/2 cubes-stick in a pot of water with salt, pepper, garlic. Boil. Drain water - most cooks off.

Starting with smaller raw means less mixing or smashing. Add butter and sour cream, stir up. No hand mixer or potato masher? Smash it down with a soup bowl if you don't feel like washing a stand mixer.

Yukon gold get gummy/gluey but my SIL prefers them - russet potatoes work well in a vitamix https://www.vitamix.com/us/en_us/recipes/mashed-potatoes

So Thursday I'm doing the easy no peel and chunks with skin in foil in the oven. Have a handmixer but if I had to deal with a stnad or blender it would happen wednesday.