Healthy (er) Mashed Potatoes

Emotional Eater doesn't even come close to expressing how much a yummy starchy, buttery dish can improve my day. It's been a "need some mashed potatoes NOW!" kind of week. However, I also have to head home in a few weeks and fit into a dress to meet about 150 of my mother's friends at a reception for her. So, I didn't feel it was a great idea to whip up my usual mashed potato recipe. (boil potatoes, add multiple sticks of butter, then add some more butter, then some cream, and salt. )

Now, I know there are those of you who have convinced yourself that substituting veggies for yummy stuff is JUST as satisfying because they are the same general color or shape. Spaghetti squash with marinara is the same as pasta!! Pureed cauliflower tastes just like mashed potatoes. um, yeah, no.

So, inspired by Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious (which I haven't actually read, but BFF and my lovely cousin have both told me some basics) I came up with a compromise.

I started with some Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut and boiled them. (about 3-4 cups of cut potatoes)

Steamed a head of cauliflower, then pureed it with a little of the steaming water.

After draining potatoes, I added about 3 Tablespoons of butter and started mashing. Then added the pureed cauliflower and kept blending. The moisture of the cauliflower was perfect for replacing the cream.

Pretty good at this point, but a little bland. I REALLY wanted to add more butter, but that would kind of defeat the purpose. So, a little salt, some Parisien Bonnes Herbes from Penzey's, and some olive oil. (the costco brand is amazingly tasty - fragrant and fruity!)

I'm not a fan of cauliflower and felt like these just tasted like potatoes. And MJ - who hates cauliflower couldn't even tell it was in there.  The texture was a little gelatinous on day 2 however.

The moral of the story. If I cook like one would for a 3 year old, maybe I'll actually learn to eat my veggies.