Mashed Potato Bar and Vodka Martinis
In past columns I’ve mentioned to you my support of a local food organization called Northwest Harvest. I recently became aware of another big supporter of this organization, actually it’s a group of friends who started with a small idea and over the last couple years, through a groundswell effort, have grown it to something much larger.
Their organization is called MashedPotatoes.org. They sponsor events at an art gallery, Gasworks Gallery, owned by one of the organizers. They participate in the monthly art walks in the Fremont area and although admittance to the gallery is free they request a non-perishable food or cash donation which is then used to buy potatoes for Northwest Harvest.
They have recently started a new event which gives you another way to contribute to the potato drive. This event is called Seattle Paint Dancing and, yes, it’s probably close to what you think it is! For a $10 donation you get to dance and/or paint the night away with materials they provide. And at the end of the night you get to keep the masterpiece you have created! This Friday, January 19th, is the next event. You can find out more about the event and sign up for it at the link above.
If you don’t live in the Seattle area, I encourage you to either take a look around your community to see how you can contribute or take a page from these guys’ book and see if there is something you can start that combines creativity, fun, and community support all in one nice little package!
In honor of this group, our Happy Hour at Home appetizer selection for this week is a Mashed Potatoes bar! You still see these occasionally at events and conferences, although I think their peak popularity was about two years ago. Still it’s a fun and easy way to allow people to customize their own appetizer.
What You’ll Need
- Mashed potatoes kept warm until right before serving
- A selection of toppings such as
- Grated or crumbled cheese - try two or three different kinds
- Bacon bits
- Shredded chicken
- Browned ground beef mixed with taco seasonings
- Diced onions, shallots, green onions or chives
- Roasted garlic
- Sour cream
- Sliced olives
- Sautéed mushrooms
- Chopped and seeded tomatoes
- Small bowls or martini glasses for guests to create their own mix
The list of ingredients can easily be customized by what appeals to you. To serve, either place a scoop of potatoes in each of the small bowls or let your guests fill their own. Have all the ingredients organized so that after picking up a bowl of potatoes the guests walk the line to add the toppings that appeal to them.
For your cocktail for this meal, I suggest a Vodka Martini. And to keep with the theme, select a potato-based vodka such as the Cold River Vodka, we recently reviewed or, for something more universally available, Chopin Vodka.
As some on this site have mentioned, a Vodka Martini is sort of just a chilled glass of vodka. And we really see nothing wrong with that! However, we think that one of the nice things about the vodka martini is that you choose the subtle flavor variations by what you choose to add to it. That may be a drop or two of Vermouth; a bit of olive “juice” or brine from the jar along with a couple of olives, stuffed or not; cocktail onions, or, my favorite, the light taste of lemon through use of a twist.
Hello I recently found out my uncle can only have vodka made from potatoes or rice. Is there any way you could tell me what kinds are out there?