By Kevin Williams
Ah, cream cheese....underrated wonder of the grocery store dairy aisle. My wife taught me about the snack of Bugles dipped in cream cheese. And sometimes I like to spread cream cheese on my sandwich just like mayo (and sometimes with mayo!) Cream cheese is great for adding just a bit more body to a dish or just a hint of additional flavor if you are looking for some.
Adding cream cheese to mashed potatoes is a "trick" many Amish cooks use because it adds bulk and just helps the potatoes hold up better if they are sitting out on a serving table for awhile. This is the Amish Cook's mashed potato recipe:
- 6 quarts of potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 1 /2 tablespoons salt
- 1 /2 cup butter
- 4 ounces of cream cheese
- 3 /4 cup evaporated milk (to right consistency. Hint: I use whole milk or cream instead of evaporated milk)
- Fill a 6 quart kettle with potatoes.
- Add 1 1 /2 inches of water and cover with a lid.
- Bring to a boil.
- Simmer until potatoes are fork tender.
- Drain off water.
- Mash potatoes until smooth.
- Add remaining ingredients and then mash everything together.
- A heavy duty mixer also works well instead of mashing by hand)
- Melt an additional cup of butter on medium heat.
- Continue heating until butter is browned.
- Drizzle over mashed potatoes.
But Amish cooks extol the value of cream cheese in other recipes too, check out these favorites:
AMISH CARROT CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Ms. Catherine Melba Alston Hardy
I like
Kevin
Thanks, Catherine!