Let Dad tell you a tale, a tale of potatoes. Parmesan Mashed Potatoes to be specific. Apparently Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort in Walt Disney World had the most amazing Parmesan Mashed potatoes ever.
Dad says "had" because a few years ago they got rid of them and replaced them with "some mashed junk with skins" to quote Dad's brother in law.
You see these Parmesan Mashed potatoes were Dad's brother in law's favorite dish that they served at Chef Mickey's. This man knows his Disney, he is a Disney Vlogger and has been to Disney more times than Dad can count.
So the "Dizjabber", as he goes by, tasked Dad with recreating his favorite dish. Well, CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!
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They Were Apparently Quite Special
After a bit of sleuthing on the interwebs Dad realized that the Dizjabber was not the only one crying over the loss of these Parmesan Mashed Potatoes. Dad found all kinds of posts in forums, reviews and even a reddit thread about them.
There were even some recipes that said they could recreate them. Some of which the Dizjabber had tried and said were not quite right.
It is pretty hard to recreate a dish that you have never had. However, Dad had a really accurate description from the Dizjabber.
Plus, Dad was able to find a picture of the potatoes in a review of Chef Mickey's from when they had them. From this picture, Dad was able to ascertain that they were definitely whipped but not pureed.
Photo From DisneyTouristBlog.com
How to make chef mickey's parmesan mashed potatoes
The trick to mashed potatoes is in how you cook them. You may think you boil some water and throw your potatoes in the boiling water. Not in Dad's kitchen. If you put a potato in boiling water the outside will be "shocked" and end up becoming overcooked before the inside is done.
Wash, peel and cut the potatoes into even-sized chunks. For smaller potatoes quarters work. If you have larger potatoes you can cut them into sixths. Just make sure your chunks are relatively the same size.
Start with cold water
By starting the potatoes in cold water you will end up with an evenly cooked potato that is perfect for mashing. Trust Dad on this one, start your potatoes in cold water and you will end up with far superior mashed potatoes.
Put the potatoes into a large pot and cover them with water by 1 inch. Put the pot of potatoes and water on a burner and set it to high. Once the water comes to a boil, lower the heat so that it is just simmering. Cook for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes take one potato chunk out and test if it is ready. You do this by trying to mash the potato with a fork. If it easily breaks it is done. If not go 5 minutes more.
Drain the potatoes in a strainer. You do not want overly wet potatoes. Grate your Parmesan cheese if you have not already done so. You want at least 1 cup, you may like it "cheesier" and want to add more. Make sure to reserve some cheese to top the potatoes when you serve them.
Take the pot the potatoes cooked in and put it back on the burner. Set the burner to medium heat. Add the heavy cream and the butter. Cook for a few minutes until the butter is melted and the cream is warm.
Remove the pot from the burner and add the drained potatoes. Mash the potatoes until everything is incorporated. Add in the grated Parmesan cheese and mix well using the potato masher. Taste the potatoes and add in your salt and pepper to taste.
Don't overwork the potatoes
Take your hand mixer and "whip" the potatoes. You want to use the medium setting and only whip them for 30 seconds to one minute. You don't want to overwork the potatoes as they can become "gluey".
Serve them topped with some additional grated Parmesan or refrigerate and reheat to serve the next day.
Chef Mickey's Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
- Large Pot
- Potato Masher
- Hand Mixer
- Cheese Grater
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Russet Potatoes
- 1 cup Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 4 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- 1 tablespoon Sea Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- Wash, peel and cut the potatoes into even sized chunks. For smaller potatoes quarters work. If you have larger potatoes you can cut them into sixths. Just make sure your chunks are relatively the same size.
- Put the potatoes into a large pot and cover them with water by 1 inch.
- Put the pot of potatoes and water on a burner and set it to high.
- Once the water comes to a boil, lower the heat so that it is just simmering. Cook for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes take one potato chunk out and test if it is ready. You do this by trying to mash the potato with a fork. If it easily breaks it is done. If not go 5 minutes more.
- Drain the potatoes in a strainer. You do not want overly wet potatoes.
- Grate your Parmesan cheese if you have not already done so. You want at least 1 cup, you may like it "cheesier" and want to add more. Make sure to reserve some cheese to top the potatoes when you serve them.
- Take the pot the potatoes cooked in and put it back on the burner. Set the burner to medium heat. Add the heavy cream and the butter. Cook for a few minutes until the butter is melted and the cream is warm.
- Remove the pot from the burner and add the drained potatoes. Mash the potatoes until everything is incorporated.
- Add in the grated Parmesan cheese and mix well using the potato masher.
- Taste the potatoes and add in your salt and pepper to taste.
- Take your hand mixer and "whip" the potatoes. You want to use the medium setting and only whip them for 30 seconds to one minute. You don't want to overwork the potatoes as they can become "gluey".
- Serve them topped with some additional grated Parmesan or refrigerate and reheat to serve the next day.
Video
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?Mention @DadGotThis or tag #DadGotThis!You know what goes great with these?
It would not be a holiday meal without cranberry sauce. Dad can show you how to make it in the instant pot in about 30 minutes.
Did you know Dad is on YouTube?
Go check out Dad's youtube channel for all kind of great cooking videos and food related content.
