I have a confession I am always thinking up recipes and thinking about food. I can’t get enough of the Food Network and of cookbooks, cooking magazines, new food products, food giveaways, etc, etc. I am always creating and re-creating recipes. Does that make me a food whore!?! : )
Sometimes I get frustrated because I think I have a brilliant idea for a new recipe and then I look in a cookbook or watch the Food Network and I see the same exact thing that I thought that I had just created or something very similar. I then get bummed out and discouraged because here I am thinking I am being creative and the idea has already been done.
But then I was thinking people have been cooking and baking since the begging of time. It can only be expected to have recipes repeated, or improved upon. I mean come on, I have seen tons, I mean, thousands of chocolate cake recipes. Because baking is a science and you have to have so many teaspoons of baking soda per cups of flour to make it rise; so then your “basic” chocolate cake recipe is going to be pretty common. Now there might be slight variations on the amount of vanilla, butter, or sugar. Or you might even add a fruit or chocolate chips or have vanilla frosting instead of chocolate; but the general recipe and list of ingredients is going to be pretty close to the same everywhere you look.
Recently I wanted to make mashed potatoes. Usually when we eat mashed potatoes Eric makes them and they are great. However I wanted to create a ‘new’ mashed potato recipe, so that I could post something different on this blog. So I had this brilliant idea to use cream cheese in this “new and improved version” of mashers. I was so excited about my idea and new recipe that I jotted it down and set it aside for the next time I was going to make mashed potatoes.
So then last week when I was tyring to use up the pork chops I had in my freezer I decided I would make my new mashed taters- but what would I do with the pork chops. That is when I turned to Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals 2. I was flipping through the book when saw IT: MY Idea for “new and improved” mashed potatoes with cream cheese. How dare she steal MY idea…..or….. did I steal hers? I totally ‘created’ my version WAY before I even saw her recipe, before I had the book, before I had even seen her book! I guess it goes back to the fact that everyone has to eat and that we as a human race have been eating since we existed- so I suppose there are going to be a few recipe repeats and similarities along the way.
When I started this blog I said that I would try to post a lot of my own recipes and any that were not my own I would give credit to those who they were(just common courtesy). So I am going to post Rachael Ray’s mashed potato recipe with cream cheese and mine. I will let you be the judge as to which one is better! : )
Cream Cheese Potatoes
2 1/2 pounds potatoes, such as Idaho or russets, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup milk
4 ounces cream cheese
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped
Place the potatoes in a large pot with cold water. Once the water comes to a boil, add a generous amount of salt. Boil until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10-12 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and return them to the hot pot to let them dry. Set aside. In a small sauce pan heat milk, cheese and onion over medium-low heat until cheese melts and mixture bubbles. Pour into potatoes and mash. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with chives.
Now for my version, and the ones pictured below.
Silky Mashed Taters, with Bacon
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, diced
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
3 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled into pieces
salt and pepper
Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook potatoes until tender- about 12-14 minutes. While potatoes cook, take a small sauce pan and heat oil and butter over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Saute until tender. Set aside. When potatoes are done drain and put into a bowl. Add onion mixture, cream cheese, buttermilk, bacon, salt and pepper to taste. Use an electric mixture and mix until smooth.
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