It's mashed potato time

My very first, very favourite dance song, was "Do you love me?", by Brian Poole and the Tremeloes.

It has since been performed by other groups and was in the film  "Dirty Dancing", performed by The Contours. Anyway, I loved it, I would shake myself about and collapse in a heap. I was only about 7!.
One of the lines of the song is "I can mash potato (mash potato)", which was some sort of dance similar to the twist, but I've still got to find out how to do it. It is probably a bit like I do anyway, just throwing yourself around.

I listen to it a lot, even now, it's a great way to get you moving. This morning, it reminded me of how much my Mum loved mashed potato. Whenever she came to stay, she would ask me to make it, "with lots of salt and pepper", the way she liked it.

There is a difference between Italian purè di patate and British mashed potatoes.
Both methods involve boiling potatoes....
In Britain we would add some milk, butter and lots of salt and pepper, and simply mash with a fork.
In Italy, we put in lots of warm milk and butter, salt and pepper, and then whisk it, until it looks like whipped cream. Both methods are delicious, but have to be served at once.

I often like to make something in the morning  for supper in the evening, and I'm always looking out for suitable recipes. It 's a habit I got into when my children were young. I loved bath time and story time so much, it was lovely just to put something in the oven, while I got on with enjoying that.

So here is one way of making mashed potatoes, that you can prepare beforehand and then just put it in the oven for 30 minutes .
Cover with cling film, when cold and put in the fridge until  ready to bake.
Put in the oven at 180 ° until golden 

Ideal with vegetables, ham or roast beef

Serves 4

1 kg potatoes
4 eggs lightly beaten
4 tbsp grated parmesan
100 g diced ham (optional)
butter
breadcrumbs
50 g cheese ( cheddar is fine)grated
1 mozzarella, diced
salt and pepper

Boil the potatoes, drain and mash with a fork.
Add the eggs, parmesan, and ham if using.
Season to taste.
Butter an ovenproof dish and spread with some of the breadcrumbs.
Spread half of the potato mixture evenly.
Scatter over the mozzarella and cheese.
Cover with the rest of the potato mixture.
Decorate with  swirls using a fork, scatter some breadcrumbs and pieces of butter.

Enjoy!