shallot and thyme mashed potatoes

• 1 bag of yukon gold potatoes
• fresh shallots, chopped fine
• fresh thyme, chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• olivio
• coarse salt

Peel and chop potatoes into large cubes, boil over a high flame for 10 minutes or until they are soft and slide off a fork. Meanwhile, saute shallots in a little olivio over a medium flame for 10 minutes. Add cooked potatoes and shallots to large bowl, add cream and olivio, salt and thyme to taste, mash until smooth.

The dish: I've said it before; it's hard to find a dish that's more well liked and yet as easy and versatile as mashed potatoes are. Boil some potatoes, add some dairy and seasonings and wham- an instant crowd pleaser that goes with pretty much any dish. As you can tell from reading these pages I tend to like potatoes with some thyme in them, but pretty much any green herb will work. Any variety will work, but in a tradtitonal "meat and potato" recipe, splurge and go for the yukon golds, they're well worth the extra few pennies. I really try to not depend too heavily on salt in these recipes, but potatoes are one of those few things that just need a little to bring out their natural flavor.