One Potato, Two Potato ...............Two Potato Swirls w/ Goat Cheese and Sweet Garlic

Taters ............. as we fondly call them here in the southeastern USA ............ mmm, mmm, mmm! To me, wonderful on their own, but when you pair them with delicious sweet potatoes, creamy goat cheese, salty Parmesan, milk, butter and soft, sweet garlic ..........

..... now you've taken me to potato heaven!

I made these delicious Two Potato Swirls w/ Goat Cheese and Garlic for a friend's birthday dinner last weekend, but since the recipe makes a bunch, I decided to take some along the next day when we visited my husband's parents. We took the photos for this post quite early that morning before we left for our visit. Guess what? After staring at those pretty swirls and inhaling the delicious aroma, (they were quite irresistible) we couldn't stand it and each ate a bowl for breakfast - and loved every minute of it, mmmm-ing our way through every bite! Who needs cereal?!

Besides being delicious, I love the fact that these can not only be made ahead of time, but they also freeze well. It's wonderful to come home from a long day at work, throw something on the grill and pop these babies in the oven. Add a nice green salad or some yummy roasted veggies and you've got a fabulous dinner - in no time flat!

P.S. If you have roasted garlic on hand, by all means use it. I'm not always so well prepared; often I just throw some peeled garlic cloves in with the potatoes - as they cook together the garlic becomes sweet and soft and just about melts into the potatoes as you mash them. Oh, and if you're looking for a super easy way to roast garlic (I should really be ashamed to not ALWAYS have some of this on hand) check out this post.

Two Potato Swirls w/ Goat Cheese and Sweet Garlic

Ingredients:
1 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
5-6 medium russet or golden potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
6 medium cloves garlic
3 ounces goat cheese
1-2 teaspoons sea salt, to taste
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter
½-1 cup milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
sweet paprika
finely sliced fresh chives or finely chopped fresh rosemary, for garnish, if desired

Directions:
1. Combine potatoes, both kinds, and garlic in a medium-large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook until potatoes are very tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain well and return to pot.

2. Add goat cheese, butter, and milk (start with 1/2 cup) and mash with a potato masher till smooth and fluffy. Do not overbeat or potatoes will become gummy. Add more milk as needed. If you're going to swirl the potatoes you will need to add a bit more milk, probably close to the whole cup so that you can easily pipe them.

3. Stir in Parmesan and either serve immediately or, if you plan to do the swirled potatoes, proceed with step 4 and 5.

4. Butter 12 small dishes or ramekins generously. Cut a small snip off of the corner of a large heavy-duty zippered plastic bag and insert a large star decorator tip into opening. (I use a Wilton 1M tip and spread the points just a bit to make the opening larger.)

5. After potatoes are cooked and mashed, allow them to cool for about 10-15 minutes, then spoon them into the prepared bag, close the zippered top and pipe into the 12 small bowls, as equally as possible. Drizzle with the melted butter, sprinkle with a bit of paprika and bake at 350˚F for about 15-20 minutes or until starting to turn golden. Sprinkle with fresh chives or rosemary and serve immediately.

Notes:
To freeze, proceed with recipe through step 5 but do not bake. Place bowls of piped potato swirls on baking sheet and freeze, uncovered. After an hour, wrap well with plastic wrap or foil. (This will keep the swirls from getting crushed.) When ready to bake, remove potatoes from freezer and place on baking sheet. Bake at 350˚F for about 25-30 minutes or until beginning to turn golden. Sprinkle with fresh chives or rosemary and serve immediately.

Servings: 12 Swirls

PRINTABLE RECIPE