Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Hey everyone! I am back from out of town and cannot wait to share this creamy, delicious recipe with you. I pulled it straight from the Pioneer Woman's cookbook. OH. MY. GOSH. We had our friends Jorge and Tricia over for dinner and Jorge put these in his mouth and said, "These are the best mashed potatoes I have ever had." and let me just say I have to agree. In my next post I will show you what I served them with which is also divine southern food. Any guesses on what it will be? So for those of y'all craving some good southern cooking stay tuned...this is just the beginning. From the Splendid Kitchen enjoy!!!

Ingredients:
5 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes
¾ cups Butter
1 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened
½ cups (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half
½ teaspoons (to 1 Teaspoon) Lawry's Seasoned Salt (I used Accent)
Salt to taste
½ teaspoons (to 1 Teaspoon) Black Pepper

Begin by peeling and slicing your potatoes. I would recommend cutting them in fourths or just a bunch of small piece; this will just allow them to cook quicker. Also as I cut them I go ahead and put them in the pot so that it will be easy to transfer them. So wash them off in cold water and place in a large pot of water.




Bring the water to a boil and allow to cook for 20-30 min. You will know they are done when they pass the fork check. Bear with me because the picture showing how it should be is 1) extremely blurry 2) the little mermaid plate is making an appearance again...



Drain your potatoes and place back into the pot.


Turn your heat on low. Now you can begin to mash them. If you have a potato masher more power to you. If you are like me and do not then simply improvise with either a fork or spoon. They are "mashed" when all the lumps are out. Turn heat off.


Time to make this dish sinful! Add two sticks of butter and mix it together.



Now I am going to ask you to add the cream cheese. It's OK you can do this. It is no calories...I..um...promise ;) Mix together!



So I am going to ask you to add one more thing that just might make you either elated because you know the outcome is going to be fantastic or feel more guilty. I choose to feel happy about it. Half and Half. That's right...go ahead...pour in in, mix it in.


Add seasoned salt (I used Accent), salt and pepper to taste. You know the drill...mix it on in!



All that is left is to scoop those savory mashed potatoes into a 2-quart baking dish. Smooth out the top and if you feel compelled to add a few tabs of butter to the top, which, I think you should, then please do so. It might even melt on top before you put them in the oven like mine did.



So you can cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days or simply pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and cover with a lid or foil and bake for about 25-30 min.
All done.... :)

Pure bliss. and I served it with.... well you will have to wait for the next post to see that :) Happy mashing from the Splendid Kitchen!

Printable recipe:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/11/delicious_creamy_mashed_potatoes/

Honey Cornbread Muffins

Hey everybody! So life has been very hectic the past couple of weeks with school about to end but don't fret I have still been cooking I have just had little time to post. Today I am sharing with y'all my go-to cornbread recipe. It is sweet and has such a great texture. I first made it last summer after I saw and episode of Down Home with the Neely's. Let me just say these are worth making and go really well with anything. From the Splendid Kitchen enjoy!

Ingredients
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup honey
Special equipment: paper muffin cups and a 12-cup muffin tin

Begin by pre-heating your oven to 400 degrees and greasing a muffin tin. I had to spray Pam in two tins.


Next grab a large bowl and mix in the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.



Now grab another bowl for the wet ingredients. Whisk together the milk, eggs, butter, and honey. (To keep the honey from sticking to the measuring cup spray Pam or something similar and it will come out a bit easier.




Now comes the fun part! Make a little well in the dry ingredients and add the wet.




Lastly pour the mixture into 12 muffin tins. If you would like you can put cupcake liners in instead of greasing it but it is your call.



After cooking for about 20 min. take out and put some butter on top and you are ready to eat!



So good! Also I tend to add a bit more honey just to make a bit sweeter and if you have left overs they freeze well! Much love! Also I would love to hear everyone's comments even if you have not made the recipe just to see where people are from who read this. Enjoy from the Splendid Kitchen!

Here is a link to the recipe.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/down-home-with-the-neelys/honey-cornbread-muffins-recipe/index.html

Twice Baked Potatoes with Prosciutto

Happy Valentine's Day! Let me just say that I never would have thought my first blog post would be so time consuming but at the same time fun and in the end worth it!This Valenine's Day my family and I had a nice home cooked meal together and you guessed it one of the sides was these twice baked potatoes. I got the recipe from Giada De Laurentis from The Food Network but left out a few things that I will get to later. These are very easy and yummy! Along with that I opted to use a small skillet because I did not cook mushrooms and only used half an onion because 1) As a result of my not having one my wondeful sister had one handy at her appartment and was able to bring it to me. Unfortunately it was a large one instead of a small one hence the cutting it in half and 2) I am not a huge onion fan. Anyway I can't wait for ya'll to try these and thanks to my mom for helping me! Enjoy!

Prep Time: 12 min.
Inactive Prep Time: 20 min.
Cook Time: 1 hr. 30 min.
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
3-4 potatoes
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons later
1 small chopped onion
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper plus more for seasoning
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 cups (8oz.) shredded extra-sharp cheese
4 thin slices of prosciutto, halved (can be found at your local grocery store)
Optional:
8 oz. small sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Start off by pre-heating your oven to 400 degrees. Next get your potatoes. I am only doing three even though the original recipe calls for Four.



Now wash them real good for the shear reason of I don't think you want any dirt on these potatoes unless your just one of those people that says "God made dirt and dirt don't hurt." My best friend used to say that to me as we were kids but I was never into the whole "getting dirty" thing. Anyway once you have washed them put them on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Begin to prick the potatoes with a fork. I just did it three times on each side of the potato simply because that is the way my mamma taught me. Once you have done this put them in the oven for about an hour and a half or until cooked through.





While these are cooking I recommend doing a few things to make the process a bit easier such as chopping up one small onion.


Mincing three garlic cloves.

and shredding two cups of sharp cheddar cheese or just using some from a package as I did. It saved alot of time :)

When done remove from oven and let cool. This will take about 20 min.


Meanwhile, in a medium skillet heat three tablespoons of olive oil over medium/high heat.


Next add your chopped onion. Stir until it is soft. It will take about 5 min.


Time to add the garlic, salt and pepper! All it takes is 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper. If you were using mushrooms now would also be the time to add them. Unfourtunately, my dad is the only one that really likes mushrooms in the family so they were a no go for this recipe. The vote is 3:1...so no mushrooms.

Stir this around for just a few minutes. Again if the mushrooms were present it would take about 6 min. or until most of the liquid is evaporated.

Pour the mixture into a bowl.


Cut potatoes in half long ways.


Using a spoon or melon ball scooper if you have one scoop out about everything but 1/4 of flesh.


Add the "potato scoopage" to the bowl with the mixture.


Next add the melted butter, oregano, and 1 cup of cheese.

Mix well and season with some salt and pepper to your liking.

Put potatoes back on baking sheet and with a pastry brush, brush both sides of the potatoes with the remaining olive oil and season the insides with salt and pepper to taste.



Spoon mixture back into each potato half and place one half-piece of prosciutto on top and sprinle with the remaining cheese. Clearly the "placing of the prosciutto" did not go so well considering all the pieces were sticking together so I just tore it up into little pieces. I'm learning to be flexible in the kitchen which is tough for me and my type A personality but that's what makes cooking fun!




Put back into the oven and bake until cheese is melted and the prosciutto is cripsy. This should take about 20-25 min.


Remove from oven and if you chose garnish with some flat leaf parsley.I did not because I did not have it on hand.


The finished product! Time to dig in!


Post-dinner


Until next time...Happy Valentine's Day from The Splendid Kitchen!

Link to original recipe and printable directions:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/twice-baked-potatoes-with-mushrooms-and-prosciutto-recipe/index.html