Creamy Rosemary Mashed Potatoes

I've received another cookbook to review, Cooking for Geeks, by Jeff Potter. If you are looking for loads of recipes and pretty pictures, then this book is not for you. But if you are an innovative cook and you're interested in the science behind what happens to food while it's cooking, then embrace your geekness. Put on those large glasses being held together by tape. And don't be ashamed to use a pocket protector, it's a badge of honor. Now rush out and buy this book.

Example: Here's why and the how to make Creamy Rosemary Mashed Potatoes.

This simple mashed potato recipe uses the microwave for cooking the potatoes. If you're in the anti-microwave category, consider this: cooking a potato - or any other starchy root vegetable - requires gelatinizing the starches in the vegetable. For this to occur, two things need to happen: the starch granules need to get hot enough to literally melt, and they need to be exposed to water so that the granules absorb and swell up, which caused the texture of the tissue to change. Luckily, the temperature at which most starches undergo the gelatinzation process is below the boiling point of water, and there's enough water naturally present in potatoes for this to happen without any intervention needed. Try popping a sweet potato in your microwave for a few minutes - fast, easy, and healthy!

Ingredients:
3 to 4 medium red potatoes, microwaved until cooked, about six minutes
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk
4 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

After cooking, cut the potatoes into small pieces that can be mashed with the back of a fork. Add the remaining ingredients and mash together.


Mashed Potatoes