Mashed Potatoes with Mushrooms and Blue Cheese for New Year's

Prepare all the ingredients. Wash all the vegetables. Brush the mushrooms, quickly rinse them under running water, and dry them using paper towels. You can use any type of mushrooms: champignons, oyster mushrooms, wild mushrooms, including high-quality frozen ones (preferably homemade). Frozen mushrooms do not need to be thawed. Choose the blue cheese you like. Although the puree will have a slightly spicy taste of blue cheese, the intensity of its flavor will depend on the sharpness and richness of the cheese. Besides blue cheese, you can also add a handful of grated Parmesan or another hard cheese with a strong and pronounced taste. You can use cream of any fat content, but for a festive puree, I add rich 30% cream. Parsley, which has a universal and neutral taste, will be suitable as a herb, and it will also be delicious with thyme.

Peel the potatoes, pour hot water, bring to a boil, add salt and cook until done. It may take 25-30 minutes depending on the size and variety of potatoes.

Peel and chop the garlic, slice the mushrooms, finely chop the herbs (leave some small leaves for garnish).

Heat half of the butter in a skillet, add the garlic and cook, stirring, over medium heat for 1 minute until translucent. Be careful not to burn the garlic, otherwise it will become bitter. Add the mushrooms and sauté them until lightly golden. Season with salt and pepper, add the herbs at the end, mix well and remove from heat. Leave some herbs for garnish.

Remove the cooked potatoes from the heat, drain the water (leave some for adjusting the thickness of the puree) and mash them until smooth using a masher or press.

Bring the cream to a boil, pour it into the puree and mix well. Add the remaining butter and knead until smooth again.

Add crumbled blue cheese to the mashed potatoes and mix well. Set aside some cheese for serving (optional).

Add the mushroom mixture to the mashed potatoes (set aside some for serving) and mix well to combine all the flavors. Taste the mashed potatoes and adjust the salt if needed.

Serve the mashed potatoes hot, garnished with mushrooms, cheese, and herbs. You can prepare the mashed potatoes a day in advance and store it in the refrigerator. To do so, prepare the mashed potatoes with cream and butter, let it cool, and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Make sure to use fresh cream to prevent the mashed potatoes from souring. Store the sautéed garlic mushrooms separately. Before serving, gently reheat the mashed potatoes over low heat, add crumbled blue cheese and garlic mushrooms. Mix well and heat it covered until it reaches the desired temperature, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to let the mashed potatoes burn, you can add a little milk or cream if needed. Garnish with herbs and cheese when serving. The mashed potatoes can be frozen after it is cooked. This saves time on preparing for the celebration.