Cooking Class with Chef Ivan Flowers Lesson 21- Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

Last week, we learned tips to make fabulous stuffing to go with our perfectly cooked Thanksgiving turkey. This week we will learn how to make delicious gravy and the best mashed potatoes. I know that many people struggle with gravy, so I’m going to give you an (almost) foolproof method to making it. Additionally, I will give you some simple tips to make your potatoes sing. Let’s get cooking!

We will start with the gravy. For the gravy you will need: a blender, two bowls, low sodium chicken or turkey stock, two tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, ½ cup cream, ¼ teaspoon finely chopped thyme, sage and rosemary, one cup red wine, and roasted vegetables from the turkey pan.

The first step in making this gravy delicious is to make sure you don’t buy a flavor injected turkey (more on this in Cooking Class 19); this just means salt and will make salty gravy as the drippings reduce in the oven. So, we have a non-injected turkey roasted on a vegetable rack that has just come out of the oven.

After you remove the turkey to let it rest, remove the vegetables to a plate and pour all the liquid into a bowl and set aside. We do this to let the fat come to the top so we can remove it and have that wonderful turkey stock. While that sits, take the roasting pan and place over medium heat.

The roasting pan has all these great bits stuck to the bottom and we want them. Why? They are packed with flavor. To release that flavor we will pour in the cup of red wine and scrape the bottom as we deglaze the roasting pan. I like red wine because it imparts a nice earthiness to the gravy. You can use water or white wine if you do not like red wine. Keep cooking and scraping until the wine is reduced by half.

Now, pour this into a separate bowl. By this time the fat should have floated to the top from our pan drippings, using a spoon, remove as much of the fat as you can. If there is still a little left, that is okay.

Add the skimmed stock to the blender and also put in half of the roasted vegetables from the turkey pan. Why are we doing this? We do this because we are going to use those vegetables that are so full of flavor to thicken our gravy. We will not be creating a roux, using cornstarch, etc. Once you have the vegetables in the blender, pulse it until the liquid and vegetables are thoroughly combined and there are no large pieces of any vegetables.

Next, add the butter and the cream and blend until they are completely mixed into the vegetables and stock. The butter and cream act to emulsify the gravy as well as adding a rich silkiness. At this point, if you want thicker gravy, simply add in more vegetables. Thinner, then add some low sodium turkey or chicken stock. Next, salt and pepper to taste. Transfer gravy from blender to a saucepan and hold over low heat. This is when we will add the finely chopped herbs.

These herbs will really make the gravy pop. We add them at the end and not when blending because if we added them earlier, the flavor would be overwhelming instead of delicious. That’s it, wonderful creamy gravy.

Now to the mashed potatoes. This recipe will make six to eight servings. I like Yukon Gold potatoes because they are incredibly creamy and have wonderful flavor. For the mashed potatoes you will need: two pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, large stock pot, two saucepans, stand mixer, one bay leaf, one sprig rosemary, four sprigs thyme, six peeled cloves of garlic, ¼ pound melted unsalted butter, 1 ½ cups warm cream, one teaspoon granulated garlic, salt, pepper and ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg.
This recipe is for skin-on mashed potatoes, if you don’t want the skins, simply peel them after cooking. The first place we can add a layer of flavor to the mashed potatoes is when we cook them. Wash the potatoes well and place them in a large stock pot. Cover completely with cold water. Why cold water? We do this because cold water allows the potato to cook from the inside out. If we started them in hot water, the outside of the potato would be mushy by the time the center was done.

To the water, add the bay leaf, the garlic cloves and the herbs, tied together in a bouquet garni (like we used when we braised the chicken thighs) this creates the first layer of flavor in the mashed potatoes. Cook over medium-high heat until a knife inserted into the potato slides out easily. This will take about 40 minutes.
During the last 10 minutes of cooking, heat the butter and cream separately in saucepans. You want the butter melted and the cream very warm, but not boiling. We want these elements warm when we add them to the hot potatoes because it results in a more even blend and keeps the potatoes nice and fluffy. Once cooked, drain the potatoes and discard the garlic, bay leaf and bouquet garni, their work is done, they have imparted their flavor to the potatoes as they cooked.

Next, put the cooked potatoes into the stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Put the mixer on low speed and with the warm cream in one hand and the melted butter in the other; simultaneously drizzle in both as the mixer does its job. Blend until desired consistency. Now, salt and pepper to taste. The final step is grating in that fresh nutmeg. You won’t taste the nutmeg, but adding it brings out that fabulous Yukon Gold potato flavor. There you go, perfect mashed potatoes.

Remember, you can add or omit things from these recipes and make them your own. Once you have the proper technique down, the sky is the limit. As with any technique or recipe, the most important component is the cook’s heart. The heart is what creates delicious.

Chef Ivan Flowers brings 25 years of fine cuisine experience to Top of The Market, San Diego. Prior to becoming Executive Chef at Top of The Market, Chef Flowers owned Fournos restaurant in Sedona, Arizona, named a top 25 restaurant in Arizona. He was also Executive Chef at L’Auberge de Sedona, the AAA Four-Diamond, Four Star award winning restaurant. Flowers has created extraordinary cuisine for some of the finest restaurants in Arizona, including T. Cooks at Scottsdale's Royal Palms Resort and the Phoenician's Mary Elaine's and Different Pointe of View.

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