| 16 August 2010
Posted in
Side Dishes -
Potatoes
When I first learned to cook with wines, it was definitely one of those experimental "maybe-it'll-taste-great-with-this!" kind of deal. Sometimes the wine would enhance the flavor of the dish but be too salty, and sometimes I couldn't even tell the difference that it made to the dish at all. So, I started paying much closer attention, did my research and found out that my dishes came out salty because I was only using wines strictly designated for cooking (which sometimes have salt, herbs, and spices added to it already), so watch out for those!
When cooking with wines, keep in mind that it is only the alcohol that concentrates during the cooking process (depending on how long you cook it, of course), but it is the remaining flavor that you're after and whether it can enhance your dish. I began noting what kind of wines I actually like the taste of -- aside from cooking with it at all -- to filter out which wines would be good for cooking with or not. Red wines generally are used to flavor red (or dry) meats, and white wines generally are used to bring out acidic flavors and/or used in a cream for white meats, or alongside potatoes. Get where this is going? ... Read on!
Mashed Potatoes
- 4 Yukon gold potatoes (about 2 lbs.)
- 2 Cage free brown eggs for mashed potatoes
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup Red Bell Pepper (small dice)
- 1/4 cup Red Onions (small dice)
- 2 tbsp Fresh Parsley (chopped)
- Salt + Pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
- 2 tbsp Whole Butter
- 4 Pearl Onions
- 6 oz. Mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 cup Marsala Wine
- 3 cups Chicken Stock
- Fresh Oregano
- Kosher Salt + Pepper to taste
Potato Mash
Boil all 4 potatoes (2 lbs) in water until you can easily poke a fork through them. In a separate bowl, add butter, sour cream and eggs and begin mashing everything together with a whisk or spatula. Once your potatoes are at an even consistency, fold in the bell peppers, onions, and parsley. At this point, you can put this bowl aside, and bring out the wine!The Gravy
Melt butter in a small-medium skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the mushrooms and pearl onions, whole. After about 8 to 10 minutes, season the mushroom and onions with salt and pepper, and add flour slowly while stirring. Add the oregano, Marsala wine, and chicken broth, and bring to a boil until your mixture is thick (About 2 minutes, or until you can take a spoonful of it and drag it across the surface of the gravy and it leaves a trail.)
Serve!
Pour the gravy on top of the mashed potatoes upon serving. This serves about 8 to 10 people -- (2lbs of mashed potatoes).
