What I had for dinner:

Beer-Mashed Potatoes

18 Sep 1995 22:37:59 -0400

The day after the Brooklyn Beer Fest.

After a week-end full of wonderful old favorites and nary a discovery that was better than mediocre, I needed to rest my palate. What better than a solid dish of mashed potatoes boiled in beer?

Two large Idaho potatoes cut into thick slices were added to 1 1/2 cup of boiling pale ale, together with two bay leaves and 4 chipotle chilies. They were cooked under lid until very soft; the potatoes were then mashed by hand, and moistened with the reduced beer (bay and peppers removed at this point) and a little olive oil until the proper consistency was obtained.

Separately, 1/2 Vidalia onion (sliced), 3 plum tomatoes (seeded, peeled, and cubed), and 3 large cloves of garlic (sliced very thin) were nuked at full power for 3 minutes; the mashed potatoes were salted and peppered to taste, and the tomato mixture gently blended in (the tomatoes should be slightly resilient still, not crushed into a sauce).

Makes 2 servings.