Duchess Potatoes

From inthekitchenwithkath.com

(Adapted from Elise’s recipe at Simply Recipes)

Serves 4-6

2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

Salt

¼ cup heavy cream

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

¼ teaspoon nutmeg (I just grated a bit of fresh nutmeg in with my Microplane zester.)

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 egg yolks

1. Put the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Stir in about 2 teaspoons of salt.

2. Bring to a boil. Cover; reduce hit to a simmer and cook until tender, 20 minutes or so. (Exact time will depend on the size of your potato chunks.)

3. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and set aside. (It’s to brush on the potatoes before baking.)

4. When the potatoes are done, drain them and then put them back in the pot over the heat for just a minute or two to evaporate any extra moisture.

5. Remove from heat. If you have a potato ricer, use it to rice the potatoes. It’s the easiest way to get smooth mashed potatoes. If you don’t have a ricer, mash them using whatever method you prefer, adding the cream, 2 tablespoons butter, nutmeg, pepper and egg yolks as you mash. Just don’t over-mash them or they’ll become gummy.

6. If you have riced the potatoes, stir in the cream, the other 2 tablespoons of butter, nutmeg, pepper and egg yolks.

7. If you have one, use a pastry bag with a large star point to pipe the potatoes on a baking sheet. Otherwise, make rounded potato mounds on the baking sheet.

8. Using a fork, make ridges on the potato mounds.

9. Brush the potatoes with the reserved melted butter.

At this point, you can refrigerate the baking sheet and bake the potatoes later if you want.

10. Bake the potatoes in a preheated 425˚ oven for about 20 minutes.