As a mom there has always been questions that really make me stop and say, “Huh?” Especially when Charlie or Suzzane would ask me questions like Are You a Baked Potato or Mashed Potato person? Why? Not because they are difficult questions, but because you suddenly realize that the people in your own family can have completely different answers.
Today’s question is a perfect example: Are you a baked potato or mashed potato person?
As much as I love mashed potatoes, especially homemade mashed potatoes with lots and lost of Butter made the way my grandmother my dad’s mom used to make them in Oklahoma, I don’t think I could ever turn down a really good baked potato either. Give me a baked potato loaded with bacon, cheese, and sour cream, and I am going to be pretty happy.
But if you make me choose? I’m choosing mashed potatoes. Give me a big bowl of good old-fashioned homemade mashed potatoes with plenty of cream gravy, and I could eat them just about any day. And honestly, I don’t even mind leaving the skins on my potatoes. How about you. Skin or no, skin?
Now, if you asked David or Charlie about that, you would probably get a very different answer. Neither one of them wants potato skins mixed into their mashed potatoes. They want those potatoes peeled and smooth. David is a big fan of a stuffed baked potato, especially when you can add meat and all the toppings that make a baked potato feel like a meal all by itself.
But if you really made David answer the bigger question, I have a feeling his heart might actually belong to French fries. And Charlie? Charlie is definitely more of a French fry person too. He does like mashed potatoes, but Charlie has one opinion about potatoes that I simply cannot understand.
He thinks instant mashed potatoes taste better than homemade mashed potatoes. I don’t know where this child came from. Because I am going to have to respectfully disagree with him on that one. There is just something about homemade mashed potatoes that instant potatoes can’t replace. Maybe it’s the cream. Maybe it’s the butter. Maybe it’s the way they remind me of sitting around my grandmother’s table in Oklahoma.
Or maybe it’s simply that some foods carry memories with them. And that’s one of the reasons I love questions like this. A simple question about potatoes somehow turns into a conversation about my grandmother, family meals, the way David likes his potatoes, and the fact that Charlie and I apparently disagree on one of the most important potato debates of all time.
And let’s not forget one of my favorite things about leftover mashed potatoes. Potato patties. If you’ve never turned leftover mashed potatoes into crispy potato patties the next day, you’re missing out. That’s one of those simple recipes that makes leftovers feel like a completely different meal, and it’s definitely one we’ll have to share here because sometimes the best recipes aren’t complicated at all.
So now it’s your turn. Are you a baked potato person or a mashed potato person? Do you want your baked potato loaded with bacon, cheese, sour cream, and everything else you can pile on it? Or would you rather have a bowl of homemade mashed potatoes with butter and cream? Chives or no Chives?
And here’s the question I really want to know: Are you team homemade mashed potatoes or team instant potatoes? Because around here, we may have to settle that debate once and for all. As for me, I’ll be over here with my homemade mashed potatoes—and saving some for potato patties tomorrow.
Grateful, Thankful, and Blessed
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates