Add herbs to your mashed potatoes. Photo
courtesy McCormick.com.

It’s been way below freezing for days in our part of the country. That’s as good an excuse as any to have some primo comfort food—luscious mashed potatoes—with tonight’s grilled chicken.

Basic mashed potatoes with butter, salt and pepper become even more delicious with the addition of some herbs, fresh or dried. This recipe from McCormick.com adds garlic, rosemary and parsley. You can also use thyme, tarragon or sage.

HERBED MASHED POTATOES RECIPE

Makes 8 (1/2-cup) servings. Prep Time: 15 minutes. Cook Time: 15 minutes.

 
Preparation

1. PLACE potatoes and 2 teaspoons salt in a medium saucepan. Cover with water. Bring to a boil.

2. REDUCE heat to low; cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and return potatoes to saucepan.

3. SPRINKLE with garlic powder, rosemary and pepper. Mash with potato masher, gradually adding milk, then butter. Stir in parsley. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

4. PULSE in food processor (optional) for extra-creamy mashed potatoes.

Find more recipes at McCormick.com.

DO YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF POTATOES?

Check out our Potato Glossary. It also explains why different types of potatoes are used for baking, mashing and fries (starchy potatoes) and others for boiling and potato salad and (waxy potatoes).

The exquisite-tasting, hand-painted love bugs (ladybugs) and bee chocolates will delight the most demanding chocophile.

 
Both lovebugs and bees are made with Valrhona 64% cacao chocolate. They arrive beautifully packaged in a reusable red boutique box finished with an old-fashioned letter-pressed card.

Treat your Valentine to:

 
Everything made by John & Kira’s is top-drawer delicious, beautifully crafted and a very special treat.

FIND MORE OF THE BEST CHOCOLATE: THE NIBBLE’S FAVORITES.

In the kitchen, that restriction covers numerous gadgets and appliances. For example, we’d love a rice cooker to prepare healthy grains more easily; rice cookers can also be used to steam other foods. But we have more than one steaming solution already. So if we’re not going to use a rice cooker several times a week (as with the toaster, microwave, coffee maker and food processor), we can’t justify squeezing it in.

Along the same lines, we resisted special plastic microwave dishes, opting to use our everyday dishes, which can be microwaved. But conventional plates and mugs can get overly hot-to-the-touch.

One day, we were given a Sistema microwavable plastic mug at a trade show. We heated soup in it and—epiphany—the plastic remained cool to the touch while the soup got super hot. It was a solution worth making space for.

Unlike ceramic, porcelain or other plastic containers—Tupperware or take-out containers—Sistema pieces, made of virgin polypropylene, do not get hot in the microwave.

The soup mug is $8.00 on Amazon; the noodle bowl is $8.49. The microwavable plate, $11.00, can double as a steamer.

The products are available nationally; we just picked up a second mug at Bed, Bath & Beyond.
ABOUT SISTEMA MICROWAVABLE CONTAINERS

Sistema Plastics makes “dedicated microwave cooking products to make life easier.” We concur!

Designed and made in New Zealand, the line includes steamers that make it easy to steam meals, covered plates to store and reheat leftovers, the soup mug that is perfect for soup or hot drinks, and a larger noodle bowl for ramen, pasta, or in our case, matzoh ball soup.

See the whole line at SistemaPlastics.com.

For a mini treat, give your Valentine two pieces of heart-shaped chocolate bark in one of three delicious flavors:

 
The 4-ounces bag is $7.00, and just enough chocolate to let someone enjoy Valentine’s Day without a limited number of calories.

Order online at LaughingMoonChocolates.com; scroll down the page past the chocolate bunnies.

Set up a “soup bar.” It’s similar to a baked potato bar, where bowls of garnishes are laid out so that everyone can customize his or her own soup.

The garnishes are what you already have in the kitchen, and a soup bar is a great way to use up leftovers. Scout the cabinets, fridge and freezer to see what you’ve got. Then, set out a selection of at least five options:

 
PARTY SOUP BAR

Offer two or three different soups that provide a good canvas for the toppings: mushroom soup, potato soup and tomato soup, for example. Soups that already have multiple visible ingredients, like chowder and minestrone, don’t need more embellishment.

You’ll also want to fan the excitement by doubling the number of garnish options.

Soup’s on! Get it while it’s hot!
 
FIND MORE OF OUR FAVORITE SOUPS & SOUP RECIPES.