Can you believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away?! I wish this year would slow down. I wish we had at least three more weeks until Thanksgiving. This part of the year always flies by and I always, always wish it would slow down so it could be savored.

These are my favorite mashed potatoes. I prefer steaming my diced potatoes vs. boiling them. But if you’re annoyed by that then by all means, definitely boil them. I prefer the steaming method because it doesn’t water log the potatoes, giving them more of that pure potato flavor. I also prefer using a ricer vs. a masher because it gives you the most ethereal potatoes.

I love to add some cheese to my mashed potatoes for a bit of flavor and, well, cheesiness. I usually keep it simple with some shredded cheddar but I also love smoked gouda and fontina. Get creative with it!

Happy-almost Thanksgiving!

Cheesy Thyme Mashed Potatoes

A classic side-dish for Thanksgiving, enjoy these mashed potatoes with your choice of cheese on top. (Recipe Credit: Adrianna Adarme of Fresh Tastes)

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (about 4 potatoes)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 sprigs of thyme, plus more as garnish
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese/fontina or another melty cheese

Directions

1. Peel all the potatoes and dice them into 1-inch cubes. This doesn’t have to be perfect but try your best to get them to be uniform in size.
2. If you own a steam-basket, great—use it! I don’t own one so I made a make-shift steam basket by filling up a 3-quart Dutch oven/pot with a few inches of water. I then nestled a sieve on top and added the potatoes to it and covered the potatoes with foil.
3. Place your steam basket/make-shift thing over medium-high heat. Steam the potatoes for about 30 to 35 minutes, stirring them about half way through. Give them a taste and make sure they’re VERY soft. Remove them from the steam basket and run them through the potato ricer, in batches, into the bowl or a stand-up mixer (or just a regular ol’ medium bowl).
4. Repeat this step until you’ve worked your way through all of the potatoes.
5. In a small saucepan, add the butter and thyme. Warm over medium-low heat until the butter has melted. Allow to steep for about 5 minutes. Next, add the heavy cream and heat until just warm. Discard the thyme leaves. Pour that into the stand-up mixer bowl, along with the salt and pepper and beat, with the paddle attachment, for about 1 minute. Scrap down the sides, if you need to. Give it a taste and adjust the salt to your liking. Add the cheese and stir until melted.
6. Serve immediately or store in the fridge to reheat later.

Yield: Serves 6 to 8 (as a side)

Adrianna Adarme is a food blogger and author living in Los Angeles, California. She writes the blog A Cozy Kitchen, where she shares comforting, everyday recipes from her kitchen. She recently authored her first cookbook, PANCAKES: 72 Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Perfect Stack. She’s a lover of breakfast, pie (and sometimes even pie for breakfast), corgis and cute things. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.