Although it is arduous to discover a Thanksgiving desk that does not have potatoes on it, all too usually which means a bowl of dry mashed potatoes or bland roasted ones. However as simple as it’s to mess up potatoes, with a bit of know-how, it is nearly simply as simple to make them one of the scrumptious elements of the meal. As a substitute of settling for mediocre spuds on Thanksgiving, wow your visitors this yr with potato recipes like pommes aligot (a.ok.a. super-gooey mashed potatoes filled with cheese), the crispiest roast potatoes you’ve got ever had, or a phenomenal hasselback potato gratin.

Mashed Potatoes

Extremely-Fluffy Mashed Potatoes

If you need fluffy mashed potatoes, simply know that starch is your greatest enemy. The key is dicing the potatoes and rinsing them effectively earlier than and after cooking, which can eliminate that extra starch and go away the mashed potatoes tremendous mild. Even in case you often want creamier mashed potatoes, as I do, this recipe is the most effective for making gravy volcanoes.

Pommes Aligot (Tacky Mashed Potatoes)

If our ultra-fluffy mashed potatoes nonetheless aren’t fairly luxurious sufficient for you, you have to take a look at pommes aligot. This conventional French dish packs potatoes with a lot melted cheese, it virtually appears like fondue. For probably the most fascinating taste profile, use a mixture of Alpine cheeses, reminiscent of Swiss, Gruyère, and Comté.

Roasted and Pan-Fried Potatoes

The Finest Crispy Roast Potatoes Ever

We’ve plenty of roast potato recipes, but when you are going to attempt only one, make it this one. Right here, we parboil the potatoes in water spiked with baking soda to make it alkaline, then toss them roughly in fats earlier than roasting; the aggressive dealing with batters the potatoes’ exteriors barely, which builds up a starchy slurry. You may find yourself with potatoes which might be tender and creamy on the within and beautifully crispy on the surface.

Extremely-Crispy New Potatoes With Garlic, Herbs, and Lemon

One of many hardest elements of roasting potatoes is coping with the skins (assuming you are leaving them on). We wish our potato skins good and crispy, but they usually come out papery or powerful. To keep away from these outcomes, we parboil the potatoes in vinegar-spiked water—the acidity helps construct up a layer of starch that will get crusty within the oven—and toss the potatoes with loads of fats earlier than roasting.

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

This is not probably the most easy potato recipe in our assortment—parboiling the potatoes, smashing them with a skillet, and frying them slowly in small batches is a minor ache. However the extremely crispy potatoes that outcome are effectively value it. Plus, you are able to do many of the work Wednesday night and reheat the potatoes within the oven, with out sacrificing crispness.

Skillet Potatoes With Cajun Blackening Spices and Buttermilk-Herb Sauce

In search of a potato recipe that may actually stand out in your Thanksgiving desk? These potatoes make a critical assertion, due to an intense Cajun-style blackening rub made with smoked paprika, cumin, garlic and onion powders, brown sugar, oregano, and cayenne. To steadiness out the spice and warmth, we serve them with a creamy buttermilk-based sauce flavored with garlic, dill, chives, and parsley.

Casseroles and Gratins

Traditional Wealthy and Silky Potato Gratin (Scalloped Potatoes)

That is potato gratin the best way it must be: wealthy, melt-in-your-mouth creamy, and loaded with taste. We layer russet potatoes with Gruyère cheese so as to add earthy nuttiness, whereas a mix of cream and milk slowly bubbles and cooks down because the potatoes bake. A crispy golden crust of extra Gruyère and Parmigiano-Reggiano is the completion.

Hasselback Potato Gratin

Keep in mind the Hasselback potato pattern? The images at all times appeared terrific on Pinterest, however the gimmicky recipe by no means appeared to work effectively sufficient in actual life to be helpful. This recipe retains the most effective a part of the thought (the abundance of crispy potato edges) by making what’s basically a sideways gratin. We prepare the potatoes, sliced on a mandoline, in a baking dish and canopy them solely partially with a mix of cream and cheese. That leaves the tops uncovered, permitting them to crisp up effectively.

Crispy Mashed Potato Casserole With Bacon, Cheese, and Scallions

Mashed potatoes do not are likely to reheat effectively, that means that you must time your Thanksgiving prep exactly with a purpose to end them proper earlier than serving dinner. There’s a workaround, although: Combining the mash with plenty of bitter cream provides the potatoes sufficient additional moisture to permit them to maintain within the fridge for as much as 5 (!) days. All you may must do earlier than serving is prime the casserole with diced bacon, cheese, bread crumbs, and scallions and bake till it is sizzling.

Tater Tot Casserole (Hotdish)

Tater Tot casserole—or “hotdish,” because it’s referred to as in its Midwestern birthplace—is nice for gatherings any time of yr, and Thanksgiving is not any exception. Certain, almost certainly your Tater Tots will come frozen from a bag (although you possibly can attempt making your personal in case you’re actually hardcore!), however combining them with a flavorful home made mushroom sauce and punctiliously seasoned floor beef makes this model additional particular.

November 2018