Awesome Mashed Potato Bar!

Hello! This summer I’m actually still on campus completing research, so I won’t be able to do as much cooking and baking as I’d like, but on the weekends I’ll be able to go home, so I’ll definitely be cooking and baking up a ton. So this past weekend my family wanted me to makes some stuff, so I made steamed buns (click here for the recipe) and a mashed potato bar! It’s really simple, fun to set up, and really yummy! All you have to do is make simple mashed potatoes and a bunch of your favorite mashed potato toppings, line them up, and fill your bowl with all of it to enjoy!

Ingredients:

·      6 red potatoes

·      2 cups half and half, warmed up

·      4 tbsp butter, melted

·      Salt

·      Pepper

·      Shaved butter (see Tip#1 here on how to do this)

·      Sauteed shallots and chives (heat a pan over high heat, add a couple tablespoons oil and cook until translucent)

·      Roasted garlic

·      ½ cup sour cream

·      Smoked paprika

·      Crispy bacon bits

Fill a large pot with water about 2/3 of the way up and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, cover, lower the heat to medium, and cook until a knife pieces the flesh with no resistance, about 15 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the pot, remove the skin from the potatoes, and transfer to a medium-large bowl. Add the half and half and melted butter and mash the potatoes to the consistency you’d like. Place the shaved butter, sautéed shallots and chives, roasted garlic, sour cream, paprika, bacon bits, and any other toppings you’d like in individual bowls, and line them up. Get yourself a bowl, fill it with mashed potatoes, and top with the toppings you like!

Bon appetit~!