Mashed potatoes were always a special treat in my house growing up. There is nothing like my Mom’s fried chicken and mashed potato dinner. I grew up believing that mashed potatoes were best made in a stand up mixer. That is, until I didn’t own a stand up mixer and bought a food mill as a quick substitute. Food mills are generally used to make things like pureed soups and baby food – but they are also perfect for making lump-free mashed potatoes. Now that I have a stand up mixer, I still use the food mill!

An amazingly perfect mashed or potato only has a couple of ingredients – Yukon Gold potatoes, butter, milk (or cream) and salt. Boil peeled and cut potatoes in salt water until fork tender. Add them to your food mill and puree into a pot. Add butter, milk and salt until they are creamy and to your taste. Serve alone – or as a bed to short ribs, roasts and stews.

While I’m trying to reduce the number of kitchen gadgets in my kitchen…I still recommend this tool. I’ve used it from tomato soup, broths and this amazing pureed potatoes!