Is it fall yet? Time for some heartier side carbs?
My son and his wife were celebrating their wedding anniversary (13 years) and they threw themselves a lovely sit-down dinner with all the bells and whistles – fine china, crystal – and they invited a few other family members. It was just so fun. Powell grilled thick ribeyes and a big slab of fresh tuna right off the day boat. I didn’t know what they were making, but was asked to bring a carb, so I searched around for something. It’s interesting that I decided NOT to make a potato salad (it is still very much summer here in SoCal) or a pasta salad, or a rice salad, or a corn salad. Nope. I’d picked out something and just couldn’t seem to get my arms wrapped around it, so I went back to look at other recipes and decided to make this mashed potato dish. I had all the ingredients on hand – thank goodness. I had some Humboldt Fog blue cheese in the freezer and I’d bought a bag of Yukon Gold potatoes without knowing if I’d be using them or not.
The most time consuming thing about making these was cooking the onions. Perhaps you can see in the photo, I used some red onion. The recipe calls for yellow onions, but I opted to use 1 yellow and 1 red. They’re slow-slowly cooked in a bit of oil and butter for a long time, stirring periodically so they don’t burn. Once they finally release all of the water they begin to caramelize (helped along with a tiny pinch of brown sugar). Once that’s done you add in some port wine. I thought I had a bottle of ruby port, but having searched through the multitude of liqueurs in the cabinet, I could only find Tawny port (which is slightly more aged port, that’s all). It took about another 15 minutes to cook that down until all the port was evaporated, but the onions then have this translucent red glaze on them. Oh my. I could have eaten the plate full of them. Forget the potatoes!
The potatoes are fairly straight forward – cook them in water – I halved the small Yukon Gold ones I bought – and I left the skins on, although you really can’t see them in the photo. They’re there, though. If you prefer, skin the potatoes first. Anyway, I tried to mash them with a potato masher and after many minutes of huffing and puffing with it, I gave up and got out the hand mixer. But I still had some little lumps after several minutes. They don’t bother me and I don’t think anyone else noticed, or if they did, they must have liked it that way too. Half and half is infused with thyme. I didn’t have any fresh thyme and I didn’t make a trip to the grocery store for it – so I used dried thyme and strained the mixture after it was heated and left to sit for awhile. I ended up adding a little bit more milk to the mixture to smooth it out – it was a bit too stiff. I chose to add the cheese into the potatoes early on (you can fold in the cheese and butter at the end if you prefer – I didn’t want little crumbles of blue. I wanted it to be mixed in well. Your choice. I piled the potatoes into a casserole dish and then added the caramelized onions to the top.
I made the casserole a couple of hours ahead and when I got to their house it was reheated in a 225° oven for about 35 minutes (uncovered).
NOTE: if you happen to taste the potatoes – by themselves – and you’re a bit alarmed at the blue-cheesy flavor, don’t be discouraged. I was more than a bit turned off by the flavor – blue cheese has a tannic taste – and I could definitely taste it in the potatoes. But paired with the (sweet) caramelized onions – oh, a match made in heaven. I decided that next time I’d make this I’d make twice as many onions just because they’re so good, and it’s nice to have plenty of onion to temper the blue cheese. So, I’ve upped the quantity of onions in the recipe below. In the original recipe, for 2 pounds of potatoes you use 4 ounces of blue cheese and use 2 onions with 1 cup of port wine. I’ve changed it to 3 ounces of blue cheese and 4 onions and double the port. Just so you know.
What’s GOOD: overall the flavor is wonderful – the blue cheese marries well with the sweetness of the caramelized onions. A great pairing. It’s a hearty dish, for sure, and goes well with a big hunk of meat (steak, roast, pork chop). I wouldn’t pair this with turkey (to me the blue cheese might overwhelm the delicacy of turkey). A chicken breast might be okay, though, as long as it wasn’t strongly flavored. Can be made ahead by several hours too.
What’s NOT: just the time it takes to make (caramelizing the onions and boiling down the port) but oh, it’s worth it if you can do it.
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Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions & Blue Cheese
Recipe By: Adapted slightly from Cook’s Illustrated, Jan. 2003
Serving Size: 8
ONIONS:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
2 pounds yellow onions — sliced 1/4″ thick, 2 lbs=4 onions approx.
2 cups port wine — preferably ruby port [I used Tawny Port]
POTATOES:
3/4 cup half and half
1 teaspoon fresh thyme — chopped (and more if potatoes are really thick)
2 pounds russet potatoes — unpeeled, scrubbed (or use Yukon Gold)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 teaspoons table salt
3 ounces blue cheese — crumbled
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1. ONIONS: Heat butter and oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over high heat; when foam subsides, stir in salt and sugar. Add onions and stir to coat; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to soften and release some moisture, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low; cook, stirring frequently, until onions are deeply browned and sticky, about 35 minutes longer (if onions are sizzling or scorching, reduce heat; if onions are not browning after 15 minutes, increase heat). Stir in port; continue to cook until port reduces to glaze, 8 to 10 minutes. Set onions aside.
2. POTATOES: If you prefer potatoes to be peeled, do that ahead. [I left the skins on.] While onions are cooking, bring half-and-half and thyme to boil in small saucepan or microwave oven; cover to keep warm.
3. Place potatoes in large saucepan with water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until potatoes are just tender (paring knife can be slipped into and out of potato with very little resistance), 20 to 30 minutes. Drain.
4. Put potatoes through a food mill or ricer if desired. Or mash potatoes with potato masher directly in saucepan. Add warmed half and half and the blue cheese and fold in completely.
5. Add butter to potatoes stirring until incorporated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, topped with onions. Or, can be made a few hours ahead (topped with the onions) and reheated, uncovered, in a 225° oven for about 35 minutes.
Per Serving: 394 Calories; 18g Fat (47.1% calories from fat); 7g Protein; 38g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 44mg Cholesterol; 680mg Sodium.
hddonna
said on September 16th, 2015:
This sounds absolutely amazing! I like my mashed potatoes a little lumpy, so I wouldn’t even try to make them really smooth. Can’t wait to try this!
It was really good. I enjoyed the left overs too. . . carolyn t
hddonna
said on September 16th, 2015:
I’m very suggestible when it comes to food. For example, if I’m reading an English novel and the characters have tea, I’m very likely to want to make myself a pot of tea right then and there. When I read this recipe, I hadn’t had my breakfast yet. I instantly craved mashed potatoes. It wasn’t feasible to caramelize onions on the spur of the moment, but I immediately went into the kitchen, microwaved a Yukon Gold potato, mashed it with butter, milk and salt, stirred in some shredded white cheddar, and topped it with a fried egg! I’ve been sick for a week, and this was a very comforting breakfast! I’m all the more eager to try the recipe here, with the blue cheese and caramelized onions.
SO sorry to hear you’ve been under the weather, but sounds like you’re on the mend. . . carolyn t
hddonna
said on September 18th, 2015:
Made this to go with a steak tonight. This was really the centerpiece of the meal–the steak was just something to serve it with! Absolutely delicious! The onions take time, but they don’t require constant attention, so it’s easy to do them while putting together the meal. I agree–they are worth the trouble.
(Thanks for your concern–I’m nearly back to normal now.)
I’m so glad you liked them, Donna! Did you make the double portion of onions as I wrote it up? Just curious? . . . carolyn
hddonna
said on September 19th, 2015:
Yes, I did make them just as you wrote it up–except that I only had one cup of port. That worked just fine to glaze them, though. I don’t think that was too many onions, either. I put most of them on the potatoes, but kept out just a bit for another use; they come in handy for so many things. I like to make a grilled beet, goat cheese and caramelized onion sandwich—they’d work great in that. I’m going to use the leftover steak and the potato dish for brunch tomorrow. I’ll serve the potatoes and onions with a fried egg on top, and slices of the steak alongside. So I’m getting plenty of mileage out of this dish!
Madonna
said on September 20th, 2015:
These look delicious. I don’t mind the lumps either, but I run them through a ricer if my sister is coming. No lumps for her. 🙂
I can see left over onions in at the bottom of a savory tart.
I think I probably prefer smooth potatoes, but sometimes they’re awfully hard to do unless you DO use a ricer. And indeed I think the left over onions in a tart would be wonderful! . . carolyn t
Toffeeapple
said on September 20th, 2015:
I would absolutely adore eating this dish. don’t onions take an age to cook down?
Yes, they do. These took about 35-40 minutes, I think. But I didn’t have to be standing at the range the whole time. At first, if the heat is low, you can check on it every 5-7 minutes or so. As they get more caramelized you need to be there more often. . . carolyn t