More Than Just Mashed Potatoes

Jeff proudly shows off his potatoes.

My mother and I recently had dinner at the home of our minister, Cara Hochhalter, and her husband Jeff. They live in a little red house in the middle of Charlemont, Massachusetts. The building is cleverly hidden away from the busy road by bushes and a fence; inside you’d never know you were close to traffic! Best of all, its main view is a private vista looking toward a brook at the back of the house.

Cara and Jeff arrived in town last summer. They spent their first few months in a nearby cottage while Jeff engaged in a flurry of construction on the new house. He replaced the heating system, insulated the walls, worked on the roof, paneled and painted the indoors, and generally made a wreck of a house into a cozy home.

He can cook, too! He invented this simple, tasty dish and dared me to discern the secret ingredient. I knew I liked it, but the cinnamon was too subtle for me to identify.



Ingredients:

2 large Idaho potatoes
2 sweet potatoes of similar size
salt to taste
a splash of olive oil
1 stick cinnamon
2 to 4 tablespoons (1/4 to 1/2 stick) sweet butter (or butter to taste) at room temperature

Instructions:

Wash the potatoes and cut them into pieces. (Jeff leaves the skins on but trims them if necessary.)

Place the potato pieces in a medium pot of water; add the salt, olive oil, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until the potatoes are tender.

Drain and mash or whip with a beater, adding the butter as you mash. Serves 4 to 6.

By the way, for any of you who were wondering about the “up to 48 hours” my blog was supposed to be offline, it lasted about 90 seconds……