Princess of Potatoes. Maybe even the Queen.

Not that I am a potato. Wait, maybe I am. A bit. But that is, first of all, changing. It is also not germane to the topic at hand.

The thing is, of the many people I love (yes, love. Geez, you people have a narrow definition of love), two of them have potato issues. Good issues, though. One of them loves mashed potatoes and the other loves potato cakes. Very specific cakes, it took me a while to make them the way he remembers from growing up in Manchester.

So...potato cake guy gets potato cakes as presents. With other stuff, like a CD or something. Actually, Christmas has almost become potato cakes/music/cheese every year. Easiest person to buy presents for ever.

Mashed Potato Woman (betcha that name hasn't ever appeared in First Nations nameology before!) did get individual servings (frozen) of mashed potatoes for her birthday. Hey, it was a good idea! Anyway...she is doing me a favour, so I made her mashed potatoes. But...

I have cooking issues. So while the potatoes were cooking, I sat there wondering what I could do to make them the BEST MASHED POTATOES EVER. Why? Would Bobby Flay ever challenge me to a potato throwdown? Who knows. Although he can throw me down anytime. Just in case he calls and asks, I want that made clear.

I thought about the potato itself. I should have bought Yukon Gold. Better flavour. Too late for that, the potatoes were already peeled and cooking. But texture, that I could do something about. And I did. I actually went the pain-in-the-ass route of putting the cooked spuds through a food mill prior to mashing them and piping them into their little potato mounds. So they should be really really excellent mashed potatoes. Unless, of course, you prefer lumpy potatoes as some do. I think this batch may make me the princess of potatoes. I'll have to try garden fresh Yukon Gold for the spuds if I want queen status though.

The only truly sad thing here is that I am absurdly excited about the mashed potatoes. And the potato cakes, because they were milled too, prior to being made into cakes. Yeah, I know, I'm nuts.