Fancy up your ordinary mashed potatoes with these Gluten Free Mashed Potato Swirls. Broil them until crispy on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside.
Ben makes fun of me because I have a few catch phrases here in Hawaii:
- “Oh, this is a beautiful day!”
- “Isn’t this a gorgeous day, babe?!”
- “Oh my goodenss, it’s so pretty today!”
- “Babe, isn’t it a perfect day outside?!”
- “Holy cow! I’m loving this day!”
- “The days are just so beautiful here!”
Are you sensing a common theme here???
Yeah, I may be a bit obsessed with the beauty around me. But when you live in paradise, it’s pretty hard to ignore.
Ben was showing me this online article the other day that listed the top 18 difficulties of living in Hawaii. Some of them were serious, like the cost of living, the lack of good medical care, and mediocre education, but there were also a handful of humorous “setbacks”. One of my favorite problems was facing “sun guilt”.
Don’t know what sun guilt is???
I’ll tell you. Sun guilt is the soul crushing guilt and anxiety that you feel when it is a gorgeous day outside with clear blue skies and the sun shining, and you are stuck inside for who knows what reason. In good conscience, you can NOT sit and lounge around your house in complete relaxation when the perfect day is taunting you right outside your bedroom window.
Sun guilt.
We actually experienced a bit of sun guilt today. After an action packed Saturday of playing tour guides to an old high school buddy and his wife, my kids, Ben, and I were spent this morning. Both Ben and I had Sunday school lessons to prepare and all Braelyn and Emry wanted to do was watch a show.
Needless to say, the morning started pretty low key; I baked some poppyseed muffins while the girls watched Netflix and did a little bit of artwork. Ben started a few loads of laundry after a morning of sleeping in (sleeping in being only 7:30 around here, haha!).
Then 10:00 am hit. Yes, it was another beautiful day and I couldn’t shake away the sun guilt. So against all the push back from Ben and the girls, I insisted that we take a bike ride past the beach and to the park. It may not have sounded like a great idea, but let me tell you it was worth the fight. The girls had a blast and it seriously was one of the most lovely days I’ve ever seen on the island.
The view of the water from our bike ride was crystal clear, there was a slight breeze, and the sky glassy blue. Plus, the park was too much fun. We rode on the swings, climbed on the monkey bars, and smiled the morning away. Just P-E-R-F-E-C-T.
Again, I guess I just can’t bypass pretty. Pretty seems to make everything better.
In fact, I’m positive that taking an ordinary batch of mashed potatoes and transforming them into these Gluten Free Mashed Potato Swirls may actually make them taste better. Haven’t you ever heard that you eat with your eyes first??? Well, feast on these!
There really isn’t anything that extremely special about these mashed potato swirls.
Wait! What???! Uh, yes there is! Just look at them. They’re soooooo pretty!
And besides being pretty, they are brushed with a little extra butter after being piped on parchment paper and before being placed in the oven to broil to a golden brown. Mashed potatoes don’t get much fancier.
Even before piping, these mashed potatoes are a little more special than an ordinary batch of potatoes. They have a dose of garlic and onion powder for flavor and a touch of cream cheese for some added creaminess and tang. In fact, you’ll be lucky if the mashed potatoes even make it in the piping bag before you devour them all. No joke.
Ben’s favorite accessory to any meal is mashed potatoes. No fail, if I ever ask him what he wants for dinner it will either be some version of tacos or, “Mashed potatoes with whatever else you want to make Babe!” He’s quite easy to please and he thoroughly enjoyed these swirls the night I made them. In fact, I can’t even remember what I served them with. All I know is that there were mashed potatoes, and that’s all that mattered.
So if you’re in the mood to impress some guests, or just have a little fun playing with your food, give these mashed potato swirls a go and see just how happy pretty can make you.
Do you focus on the presentation of your food?
- 6 medium sized baking potatoes, peeled and cut in half
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1-1¼ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 oz. cream cheese
- ⅓-1/2 cup milk
- Bring a large pot of water to boiling. Add in your potatoes. Boil for 30-35 minutes until tender when pierced with a fork.
- Drain potatoes and return to pot. Add 3 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, cream cheese, and ⅓ cup milk. Using a handheld beater, beat on high until smooth. Add more milk if needed. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to broil.
- Scoop mashed potatoes into a pastry bag with star shaped tip. Pipe mashed potatoes as if you are piping a cupcake onto parchment paper on baking sheet.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in microwave. Using a pastry brush, gently brush butter onto tops and sides of potato swirls. Lightly season tops with additional salt and pepper. Place under broiler for 5-10 minutes or until tops and sides are golden brown.
- Let swirls sit for 5 minutes before transferring to serving dish.*
