It seems as thought it has somehow become Thanksgiving week. What gives, calendar? Why in such a hurry? Are you not enjoying this lovely fall? Hmph.
I cannot avoid it any longer, so today I am going to head to the grocery store after work to stock up on the things I’ll need for my contributions to our family’s Thanksgiving feast. I usually bring the same three or four things: homemade bread, pureed butternut squash (totally plain, for sick sister who can’t eat much), roasted green beans and brussels sprouts, and mashed sweet potatoes.
In thinking about the mashed sweet potatoes, it occurred to me that I need to share with you one of my absolute favorite kitchen tools. It isn’t electric. It does not involve digital anything. It looks a lot like something my grandmother would have had in her kitchen. And yet, it performs better that a bunch of fancy gadgets I’ve tried for the same tasks.
It is: a food mill.
It works like this: you place the mill over a big pot. You scoop whatever you want mashed, pureed, smooshed, etc into the top of the food mill fitted with one of the three milling plates. You turn the crank. Beautiful, chunk-free, seed-free, skin-free puree falls out the bottom of the mill into your pot. You marvel, and wonder how you ever lived without this thing.
There are three different plates, from fine to coarse, which allow you to mash and puree foods of different textures. It works great on separating the seeds and skin from tomatoes, pressing applesauce into a super-smooth texture, and, of course, making the world’s most perfect mashed sweet potatoes with barely any effort. And, at $21.85, it’s hardly even a splurge. (There are fancier versions out there, but this is one kitchen appliance where the cheap-o version has served me so well I can’t imagine why you’d pay 2 or 3 times as much just for a stainless steel version.)
So if your schedule for the week includes turning dozens of potatoes into a smooth fluffy mash, I HIGHLY recommend the RSVP food mill. You’ll never go back to your old hand-masher again.
RSVP Food Mill, $21.85 on Amazon, also available at kitchen supply stores.
BONUS: Recipe for Absolutely Perfect mashed sweet potatoes
(from Cooks Illustrated, my favorite cooking magazine on earth.)
Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 pounds sweet potatoes (2-3 large), peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices (cutting them into even slices is important for the way they cook in this recipe, which kind of steam-braises them.)
a pinch of black pepper (optional)
Instructions:
1. Combine butter, cream, salt, sugar, and sweet potatoes in a 3 -4 quart saucepan. Cook, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork, 35-45 minutes.
2. Mash potatoes with a masher or put into the hopper of a food mill and process into a warmed serving bowl. Stir in pepper, if using. Serve immediately. (You can also keep them in a warm oven if the rest of your feast isn’t ready yet. I’ve even made these a few days ahead and reheated on the actual day. You can do that too. I won’t tell.)
