MSG! Aww my stomach lining!

Last night for FHE we had Thanksgiving dinner (yes, on a Monday). They gave out assignments alphabetically by last name. So I got stuck with a side dish. I'm not a Thanksgiving day side dish kind of gal. I'm not even really a Thanksgiving Day dinner kind of gal, stems back to my growing up years (which lets face it I'm still growing up) when I was a picky eater (still am). I also have a cerebral condition which does not permit me to take the easiest, simplest, and most obvious option. I could have taken a bag of frozen corn, peas, limas, veggie-anything. Rather I felt that my only option was to make mashed potatoes, and this girl don't use no flakes (yes, English majors across the endless expanse of cyberspace, cringe at that last statement. Muhahaha).

*cough*

So I bought a 5 pound bag of potatoes, foolishly believing that Monday between work and FHE I would be able to assist those russet potatoes through the metamorphosis from ugly brown round things into fluffy, creamy, melt in your mouth goodness mashed potatoes.

...I was wrong.
I got home around 5:15, I needed to be at the building at 6:30 (and it's a 30 minute drive from my house to the building). I washed the potatoes, I peeled them (because I abhor skins in mashed potatoes) and then I boiled them. I thought I could speed up the process but mashed potatoes are not something to be rushed.

I've only made mashed potatoes solo once before. That was in college and that was too long ago to really remember. I have mashed potatoes since, but I didn't do any of the prep work, I just used a little elbow grease (speaking of elbow grease that's a disgusting thought). I thought it was time to mash the potatoes but I didn't know how to be sure except to start doing it. It was not time, I put half the potatoes back in to boil, while working on one of the smaller potatoes, as I finished mashing one I grabbed the next. I threw in butter and milk to make them creamy. I may have dashed salt and pepper in there a little bit too (if I wasn't supposed to then I don't recall doing that). Six o'clock came, time to leave, I wasn't ready, I was still mashing. Halfway through the process my brand new potato masher broke, as did my spirit (just kidding, trying to be overly dramatic here). I kept going with the broken masher, but then my hand started to ache. When I felt certain that the potatoes were mostly mashed I pulled out the mixer and beat them.

Finally at 6:30 I was ready to go. My roommate, Anne and I got there at 7, luckily they hadn't started to eat, so we added our food to the mix and waited for the festivities to begin. Thus is my adventure in the side dish culinary world.