Amazing Mashed Potatoes

[MilitantSquatter]

I wish I had time to take pics....

I had a bunch of family over today and made some garlic/rosemary seasoned flank steaks on the kettle with grilled asparagus and mashed potatoes...

Mashed potatoes were going to start off as real basic, but I got the bug to be different.... The reviews at the table were incredible...

12 large brown potatoes (peeled, but not 100% peeled)
Small pack of hickory flavored bacon - diced
2 Jalepeno Beef sausages (Courtesy of Jorge !!! from Opa's Smoked meats in Fredricksburg, TX - http://opassmokedmeats.com/)
1 package of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
5 cloves of garlic - minced
1/3 pt. of heavy cream
1/4 cup (approx)of whole milk
3 tablespoons (approx) of whipped butter
Kosher Salt & Pepper

I indirectly grilled some of the awesome Opa's Jalepeno Beef Sausage Jorge brought to NY i for me in Aug. so my family could sample it... Then I decided to experiment and throw some of it in the mashed potatoes I was going to make. From there I went for broke and also included bacon and sharp cheddar cheese.

Sauteed the miced garlic & diced bacon as the potatoes cooked. Sliced and diced the cooked sausages. Then mixed it all together with the other ingredients... Cheese melted in nicely...

The flank steaks were really good, but all anyone could talk about were how good the mashed potatoes were.... I had to agree... they were amazing... The smoked sausage, bacon and cheese made a boring side dish come to life...

 

[SmokeInDaEye]

Man, those sound amazing, Vinnie! Ive never thought to add meat to mashed taters before. And nothing beats heavy cream and butter!

 

[qman]

Skip the steak and asparagus and give me a bowl of them mashed potatoes mod.
They sound terrific Vinny. And I just ate a rib-eye steak, and promised myself no-more-carbs-for-the-day, and you are tempting me.
I am going to steal this one from you. I know my wife will reward me for making it for her. Soon.

 

[Jorge]

hmmmm, never thought of tossing some of that sausage into a twice baked tater...

Glad it worked out for you. Give my best to your family.

 

[BBQchef33]

Holy chit.. i think an artery clogged when i read the recipe..

but that dont mean i aint gonna try it.. may replace the jap sausages with something else... that sausage would never make it off the cutting board intact..

they belong in potato rolls smothered in onions..

or jalepeno relish,

or melted cheddar cheese,

or wrapped in a biscuit and baked.. (Pig in a blanket)

or... oh hell now im hungry.

 

[Q_Egg]

.... mighty creative and very tasty-sounding !!! I don't have access to your sausages, but maybe can substitute come really good spicy cajun versions from local Costco. Everything else sounds really decadent ... for mashed taters.

Good stuff!

 

[timzcardz]

Vinny,

Congrats on the potatoes.

I do something very similar (no sausage or heavy cream, plus a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil), with my twice baked potatoes. Also topped with shredded cheddar and crumbled bacon and put back on the grill to finish.

Served this with some of the best filet mignon that I've ever made and yeah, everyone talks about the potatoes.

Remember this next time you go shopping. Pocket the money for the meat and just buy another bag of potatoes! :-D

 

[beerguy]

Vinny, those smashed potatoes sound great! And as Paula Dean says " I aint your nurse, Im your cook" go ahead with all that butter and cream!

 

[cabo]

Ok Vinny,
The tater recipe is already copied & pasted into my “recipe section”. Gotta try them, but grilled Asparagus? I like Asparagus, but never tried it grilled. Could you elaborate please?? How you do dat???
Yeah I know, first you get some Asparagus, then you get some fire:twisted: …….Recipe Please!!:wink:

 

[beerguy]

Ok Vinny,
The tater recipe is already copied & pasted into my “recipe section”. Gotta try them, but grilled Asparagus? I like Asparagus, but never tried it grilled. Could you elaborate please?? How you do dat???
Yeah I know, first you get some Asparagus, then you get some fire:twisted: …….Recipe Please!!:wink:

Sprinkle some eevo on the asparagas, some sea salt and cracked pepper, and throw them on a mesh grate so they dont fall into the grill. Heat them thru about 3 mins, so they stay crispy, dont overcook them. I use the real skinny stacks, fat ones dont work as well. Great with the grilled salmon.

 

[qman]

Sprinkle some eevo on the asparagas, some sea salt and cracked pepper, and throw them on a mesh grate so they dont fall into the grill. Heat them thru about 3 mins, so they stay crispy, dont overcook them. I use the real skinny stacks, fat ones dont work as well. Great with the grilled salmon.

Me, I do the fat ones because I like to leave them on the fire long enough to pickup some char. Otherwise this is right on.

As a alternate to the mesh grate, you can raft several stalks together, by using bamboo skewers [2 per raft] and skewering through the stalks, building little asparagus rafts, a la Tom Sawyer. Then you turn the whole raft, and also dodge the old falling through the grate problem.

 

[MilitantSquatter]

Sprinkle some eevo on the asparagas, some sea salt and cracked pepper, and throw them on a mesh grate so they dont fall into the grill. Heat them thru about 3 mins, so they stay crispy, dont overcook them. I use the real skinny stacks, fat ones dont work as well. Great with the grilled salmon.

Beerguy does it the exact same way I grill the asparagus except I also chop or slice some garlic and let in sit in a ziploc bag with the olive oil for a while.. then grill. I also top with a little crushed red pepper along with the black.

I also prefer the skinny ones as they cook up better (more tender).. Any good steakhouse or hi end restaurant that serves asparagus will use the skinny ones. The larger ones are often too chewy and tough... I end up having to slit the fat ends with a knive...

 

[Ron_L]

I agree with Vinny. Gotta have garlic on the grilled asparagus! Also, top it off with a little fresh grated Parmesan cheese just before serving.

The tater sound great, Vinny! I may have to change my dinner plans. Mashed taters are OK with ribs, aren't they? :-D

 

[The_Kapn]

Darn--I just came home from a decadent breakfast and now I am hungry again.
We do 'sparagus like that all the time--wonderful.
Gotta try some kicked up smashed taters now.

So much food, so little time, so many pounds :redface:

TIM

 

[Jorge]

Mandatory in my twice baked are some mushrooms. Saute those in some bacon grease, with a little garlic, and some shallots, seasoned with plenty of fresh cracked pepper.

 

[cabo]

Thanks Guys, sounds great.
Karnak says, there is Grilled Asparagus & some killer mashed Taters in my immediate future!!!
Now for a shopping list!