- Ina Garten includes Parmesan in her go-to mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving.
- To make hosting easier, she cooks a lot of side dishes in advance, including this one.
- And she maps out the meal, writing down when each side dish is to go in and out of the oven.
The queen of the Hamptons’ classic recipe for Parmesan Smashed Potatoes first appeared in The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook in 1999, and it’s such a crowd-pleaser that we think it should be considered a staple every Thanksgiving. The recipe begins by boiling 3 pounds of red potatoes with salt for approximately 25 minutes. There’s good news for those who dread using the veggie peeler—you can mash these potatoes with the skins on, so the tender peels add a little extra texture to the final dish.
For creaminess, Garten adds butter, half-and-half and sour cream. (She smashes her potatoes in her stand mixer, but you can mash the potatoes in the pot you used for boiling, for easier cleanup.) Garten recommends heating the half-and-half and butter on the stovetop before adding them to your potatoes, as cold cream can cause your tender tubers to congeal rather than become creamy and fluffy. For an added flavor boost, Garten folds in Parmesan cheese and black pepper, and in just 25 minutes, the potatoes are ready to serve.
In an appearance on Al Roker’s podcast Cooking Up a Storm, Garten also offers her tips on hosting a successful Thanksgiving meal, such as checking in on your guests’ food allergies or dietary restrictions and incorporating their needs into the entire meal. “I just think it’s important to make sure that everybody is well taken care of without feeling singled out,” she says. We also love her method for making sure the Thanksgiving meal is hot and ready at the perfect time.
“I do this for dinner for four, and I do this for dinner for 12,” Garten explained. “I make a schedule. So, when I’m doing the menu, I literally write out when I should start making something and when it should go into the oven, when it should come out. And then I know that everything will be done … when everybody arrives.”
She also does lots of hands-on cooking in advance, especially when it comes to side dishes. Garten recommends placing side dishes in the oven or on the stovetop as soon as the turkey comes out of the oven, since the bird needs time to rest once roasted. (If you decide to try Garten’s mashed potatoes ahead of time, she suggests reheating them in the oven with a little extra Parmesan on top, or adding some more warm milk or cream in a glass, heat-proof bowl over a pot of boiling water.)
If you want to go full Ina this holiday season, try pairing those smashed potatoes with a couple of her other classic favorites, such as Tuscan Turkey Roulade and serving up her French Apple Tart for dessert.
