Faster Mashed Potatoes With a Potato Ricer

If food is love, than good mashed potatoes are the tantric sex.  Like alot of simple things, getting mashers to come out perfectly is more difficult than it seems and can be a real PITA.  The texture or mouth feel is all important and most potato mashers are haphazardly designed and manufactured, requiring you to pound away for what seems like an eternity before you get decent results (hey, just like tantric sex).  I don't know about you, but by the time I get home from a busy day, I am really not in the mood for all that effort, which has generally meant rice or bakers would have to suffice (the culinary equivalent of "afternoon delight").  Three of four months ago, on a lark, I shelled out for a Potato Ricer, which looks for all the world like a giant garlic press.  I had up until that moment considered that the Potato Ricer's main function was separating me from my money.  To this day, I have no idea what came over me, call it the hand of providence or what have you, but this temporary lapse in judgement has changed my life.  Using a ricer, the mashing takes less than a minute (four servings), and principally consists of the time it takes me to stuff it with spuds a few times.  You'll need pretty good grip strength though, so if you have carpal tunnel these might not be for you, but otherwise, these things are well worth the money and space they take up in the pantry.  BTW: The best tip on mashers I have ever received was from Cook's Illustrated's practice of getting as much of the H2O out of the boiled potatoes before you mash them, it really leads to a fluffier result. (I return them to the hot pan and stir over the off, but still warm burner).