Duchess Potatoes “Pommes Duchess”

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds russet potatoes (3 potatoes)
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2  cup heated heavy cream
Salt and Naughty Nelly's Deadly Twelve Pepper Blend or a few cranks of the peppermill, to taste
2 egg yolks

Preparation:

Scrub the potatoes. Peel and cut them into one inch cubes and place them in a pot of cold salted water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and cook for about 10 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain at once and return the potatoes to the pan and the stove for about two minutes to help remove any excess moisture from the cooked potatoes.

For these potatoes I recommend using a potato ricer to process the potatoes as you will be piping them through a star tip. You do not want to battle lumps. Quickly rice the potatoes and incorporate the butter. Add half the cream and taste for seasoning. Add the egg yolks and whip together. The potatoes should be pretty stiff. If they are too stiff add some more cream.

At this point they are ready to be baked. You can drop them on to parchment lined pans or you can put the potatoes into a large pastry bag fitted with a star tip. You can then pipe the potatoes onto the sheets in a circular or rectangular pattern. You can then bake them in a 350 degree F. oven until browned, about 12-15 minutes. A bit longer it they have been chilled.

For a richer color, shine and flavor, you can brush the Duchess Potatoes with an egg wash just before they go into the oven.

NOTE: There is no cream or cheese in the classical recipe for this dish, but it is OK to use them in the recipe. Sometimes we add a bit of parmesan. Yukon potatoes also work wonderfully in this recipe.