Herbed Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

I arrived at this recipe by the Barefoot Contessa via The Bitten Word.  It was the most popular dish at their annual Fakesgiving feast.  Fakesgiving is part dinner party, part practice for Thanksgiving, part "I have a blog and need to post these things before the actual holiday", and part "I love these kinds of foods and wish we had them more often".  This casserole is a new twist on cheesy mashed potatoes.

I've never used Yukon Gold potatoes before.  I've used pretty much every other kind the market carries, but always gravitate to Russets when I'm buying a "plain potato".  They're good, with a slightly more solid texture.  And they cream up very easily with a spoon.  You don't need to whip them.

Ever since I bought my food mill, I have been coming across recipes that use one.  I've probably been making these all along and just ignoring the food mill part.  You can certainly do this recipe with an electric beater or stand mixer paddle.  What the mill does is rice the potatoes first, and also remove the skins so you don't have to peel the potatoes.  It's also one more gadget in the cupboard and one more thing to clean afterwards.

Even though this counted as one of my non-diet dishes (duh), I did lighten it up from the original.  This version is slightly lower in fat and uses less than half as much salt.  I also cut the recipe in half for a 4-serving version.

Next up is trying to figure out a way of making a Dairy menu for Passover so I have an excuse to make a really big batch of this.

1-1/2 lbs Yukon gold poatoes
3 large cloves garlic
kosher salt
*1/2 tsp cracked pepper
4-oz log of garlic & herb goat cheese (chèvre), room temperature
2 Tb butter, room temperature
3/4 C (one 6oz container) plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
1/4 C milk, more as needed
*1/4 C grated parmesan cheese

1.  Peel potatoes if not using a food mill and cut into 1" cubes.  Peel and slightly smash garlic.  Put in medium saucepan and fill with water just barely to cover.  Add 1/2 tsp salt and bring to a boil.  Lower to a simmer, cover, and cook until very tender, about 20 minutes.

2.  Drain potatoes and process with an electric beater, stand mixer paddle, potato ricer, or food mill on the coarsest setting.  While still hot, stir in cheese, butter, yogurt, milk, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.  If you like your potatoes creamier, add more milk 1 Tb at a time to desired consistency.

3.  Spoon potatoes into an oval or round casserole.  Personally, I like the corner crusts, but this recipe probably specifies a curved casserole for a reason.  Sprinkle top with the parmesan cheese.  At this point, you can either bake right away or refrigerate until ready to use, within 24 hours.

4.  To bake, preheat oven to 375º.  Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until top cheese is lightly browned and you get a slight crunchy crust when you spoon it out.  Serve hot.

Difficulty rating :)