Potatoes Two Ways

I'm obsessed with potatoes. I like them baked, fried, mashed, smashed, au gratin, diced, sliced, crinkle cut, yellow, purple, and baking. I am to potatoes what Bubba was to shrimp.

So this week we had our snow storm (bracketed by 70 degree days) on the first day of spring which read to me as: make some soup buddy! So I did. Once upon a time I used to make classic potato soup. I used heavy cream, three different types of pork, and it was lovely. In college one of my coworkers introduced me to a super quick, equally bad for you, but in a cheaper way, version of potato soup. This involved a quart of whole milk, a log of velveeta and the addition of broccoli.

This weekend I opted for a combination of the two. In lieu of cream I stuck to the velveeta and whole milk with the glorious salty heaven that is salt pork and bacon. I threw in some broccoli so I could justify eating two bowls and then I proceeded to gorge myself on soup. I have managed to save enough to take to school with me to tomorrow for lunch. I wish I hadn't. I get a little soup drunk when I eat this, I don't want the kids to see me like that...

I also attempted a new way to play with potatoes. My latest Everyday Food came with what at first glance seemed like a little nugget of heaven. Potato Croquettes, which was a reader friendly way to say fried mashed potatoes. I'm in.

I boiled my potato, drained and then began my mashing process. Loads of butter, heaps and mounds of cheese and a splash of milk. Eek. I think the splash of milk was not a good choice-we'll get to that. These were the best mashed potatoes that had entered my mouth. I wanted to go full blown eating disorder and hide in the closet until the bowl was clean. But I didn't. Yay! Restraint!

Time to batter. It was a form, flour, egg wash, and bread crumb situation. Enter the milk trauma. My mashed were runny, and sticky, not a consistency that rendered a forming process gracefully. I did a test run, it didn't go well, fried her up and served her to my buddy. My once delectable mashed potatoes were bland and boring now. Though piping hot and fried... Okay more cheese, a lot more cheese, and a better forming plan. And the addition of some chopped jalapenos to cut the creamy blandness and we were back in business.

They were okay. I think sauteed onions and some sort of herb situation is needed. There needs to be something sharp, almost acidic inside these little bundles of fried starch. Or maybe some bacon...

I'm not thrilled with them, but I'm not giving up on them either. That is how much I love my little carbohydrate laden friends.