First – before I go anywhere, do you think its too late in the year to be wishing people Happy New Year? After all, I am a slug and aren’t slugs slow by nature? Speaking of slugs, salt melts them too and so I must not be all slug or I’d be a pool of water and me and the mirror in my bathroom know that ain’t true! So we’ll go with half slug which I think implys that March is indeed not to late for Holiday wishes and chatter! OK – the truth is I wrote this several weeks ago and I can’t post the video from work, so here’s the low tech version!
Happy New Year to all you fellow slugs out there. I hope you have big plans for ringing in the New Year. My big plans include a big couch, a big snuggie and a big glass of wine…ok…bottle but who’s counting?
A quiet New Years Eve follows a very busy Christmas holiday in slugland. Hubby, gurls and I (and might I say to channel the Beatles – I get by with a lot of help from my friends) hosted our thus to this date – Annual Christmas Party. I say thus to date because, like every year when I am faced with the prospects of “undecorating” my house AND paying my VISA bill – I delclare “I am never going to do this again”! Somehow, however, similar to the pain of childbirth, you forget the next time it rolls around. Truthfully - all Home Depot has to do is put out their new holiday items and I am hooked. Unless I find a twelve step program for Christmas addiction between now and next November, its safe to say the party is on 
Speaking of the party – I must apologize right up front if there are some of you out there who were expecting an invitation and did not receive. It was not that we’ve suddenly forgotten who you are but my laptop was stolen and I had to recreate my address list and it obviously had some holes in it. So the truth is, I guess I did forget who some of you were but please don’t take it personal – old age is hard on us all.
So, finally on to the point of this! While there are those who would say, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” Hubby and I decided to change up the party a bit this year and fix bbq. I’m telling you this party was “smokin hot” ….literally. Along with the bbq we fixed a mashed potato bar. Fancy martini glasses filled with potatoes and the toppings of your dreams….gravy, butter, bacon, butter, chives, butter, sour cream…did I mention butter? Not being a martini drinker myself – I find this an EXCELLENT use of a martini glass.
In the party planning process, deciding to have a mashed potato bar for 100 people and executing it are two different things. How do you go about preparing that many mashed potatoes. Here’s the deal with prep video (not) at no charge!
1) Load 50 pounds of potatoes into your basket, add entire dairy supply (Half & Half, butter and largest container of Sour Cream Sam’s sells). Endure strange looks from clerk that assumes you are working for Kentucky Fried Chicken and on your way to prepare today’s lunch. Nevermind the fact that a real potato has probably never darkened the door of that establishment!
2) Invite your dear friend Bob, who by the way travels with his own peeler, over to peel 50 pounds of pototoes….yes 50. Promise lunch while peeling and oh yes, good wine while peeling too. It may not seem fair but he fell for that proposition.
3) Turkey fryers are not just for turkeys any more. Get out jet engine propane fired burner and cook more potatoes then you (or KFC) have ever seen in your life
4) Drain and dump Kroger dairy section into pan
5) Get out your drill…yes…I said drill. Check out the video – production credits to Hubby and Sissy for the idea and execution, to sissy for having a “mud mixer”- yes it was clean and to our neighbor having a drill with a 1/2 inch chuck – whatever that is.
50 pounds of mashed potatoes in 5 minutes or less…it’s how we roll!
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