Monday, April 5, 2010

Boursin Cheese Mashed Potatoes

One of the best things about food blogging is the inspiration you get from others. For example, this past weekend, I was reading Kathy's blog Eat Food Not Money and her post about Garlic and Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes. Her use of cream cheese made me think "what if?". What IF I added Boursin Cheese to mashed potatoes?

The results were ridiculously tasty.
Boursin Cheese Mashed Potatoes
Source: Nibble Me This

5 ea russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
5 cloves garlic, peeled and root end sliced off
1 package Boursin Cheese (5.2 oz)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup heavy cream*
salt and pepper to taste

Fill a 3 qt pot about 2/3rds full with water and bring to a boil Add about 1 Tbsp of salt, the garlic and the potatoes. Cook about 8-10 minutes or until the potato pieces are fork tender.

Drain the pot into a colander. If you like smoother potatoes, press the cooked potatoes and garlic through a ricer into the pot. If you like more coarse mashed potatoes, just put them back in the pot and mash them with a masher or just a wooden spoon.

Stir in the Boursin cheese. The residual heat should melt the cheese quickly. Stir in the sour cream. *If the consistency of the mashed potatoes call is too thick, add the heavy cream.

Now just season with salt and pepper to taste. You can garnish with a few crumbles of extra Boursin cheese.

And what are mashed potatoes without a good gravy? I made a quick roux with 2 Tbsp of butter and 2 Tbsp of flour in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Then I whisked in the 1/2 portion of au jus from the roast. The gravy was still just a touch too thick so I whisked in about another 1/2 cup of beef stock to get it where I wanted. Then I added in about 1 tsp on cracked black pepper.

Time for a game of Versus-Comfort Food in the comment section: Mashed Potatoes or Mac and Cheese?