Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes

I thought the Treasury didn’t have a mashed potatoes recipe. But that’s because the indexing for the Treasury, like some of the recipes, is infuriating. I scoured the book and gave up, offering Potatoes Savoyard as an alt potato. However, I was browsing the index and discovered the index has an entirely separate section labeled vegetables. Thi section lists some of the recipes-within-recipes, including this one for Duchess Potatoes.

Duchess potatoes are–and are not–mashed potatoes

The recipe featuring Duchess potatoes is on page 316 nested in the recipe for Baked Whole Seabass, from the Old Original Bookbinder’restaurantnt in Philadelphia. Today, sadly, it has closed. However, in its day, the Bookbinder was a class act. It was primarily a seafood joint, sporting the world’s largest indoor lobster tank which held 350 lobsters. Bookbinders opened in the 1860s. It featured bas relief images of U.S. presidents, stained glass windows, and a bronze version of the Declaration of Independence.

The original restaurant went through a massive restoration then closed anyway. The property was picked up and relaunched as The Olde Bar and preserved most of the restoration (maybe all of it? Until I go there, it’s hard to say).

Duchess potatoes are meant to be piped around a main course. In this case, it was Baked Whole Sea Bass. The fluffy mashed potatoes in Duchess potatoes are piped with ridges which brown very nicely and make for a gorgeous presentation. They and taste pretty good too.

This recipe uses raw eggs so use your best judgment about the very, very low health risk since the residual heat and all the whipping you’re going to do will kind of cook them sorta maybe.

I suggest you give the recipe its due by using it both as mashed potatoes, but with a twist. Fill a deep baking dish with the mashed potatoes then top that with florets of the piped potatoes and, as Mr. Price has instructed, run it under a broiler to slightly brown the potatoes.

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:5]

Author: Bull

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