When you’re cooking for the holidays, there are two rules: make food people actually want to eat, and don’t drive yourself insane in the kitchen. Ina Garten is basically the patron saint of both principles, so this year I decided to go all in. I cooked six of her most-loved potato recipes — everything from creamy gratins to crispy roasted pans — and after hours of peeling, chopping, layering, and taste-testing, I walked away with one absolute winner I never expected to love this much.
The first dish I tried was her parmesan smashed potatoes, which are basically the cozy sweater of holiday food. Boil the potatoes, smash them down, drizzle with butter, olive oil, parmesan and herbs. They come out rustic and crispy, like the fancy cousin of the baked potato. They disappeared from the table in minutes, but they weren’t the one.
Then I tried her garlic smashed potatoes — similar process, more garlic, more richness, and definitely crowd-pleasing. But as good as they were, they didn’t stick in my mind the next day. I wanted something that felt like a holiday staple, not a one-night fling.
Next came her loaded mashed potatoes, which really should be described as mashed potatoes wearing a velvet robe. Cream cheese, sour cream, scallions, butter — all the things that make diets tremble. They’re indulgent, rich, and comforting, and honestly, probably the most forgiving dish if you want something that reheats well and still tastes divine. Still, not “the one.”
Her skillet-roasted lemon potatoes were the first surprise. Bright, tangy, unexpected. They brought something fresh to the table and cut through the heaviness of the rest of the menu. They’re perfect for anyone who wants a potato that doesn’t feel like a butter bomb. But holiday tables — at least mine — demand something heartier.
Then I baked her classic potato gratin, and this one is dangerously good. Thin-sliced potatoes layered with cream, cheese, and more cream. It’s the kind of dish you take one polite scoop of, then somehow find yourself standing at the stove at midnight with a fork “just checking the seasoning.” Nearly “the one,” but still not quite.
And then — then — came Ina Garten’s Chipotle Parmesan Sweet Corn Mash, which I only added because the full menu needed something a little different… and holy hell, this was it.
But if we’re sticking specifically to potato-based recipes, the true winner was her French Potato Purée, the crown jewel I didn’t see coming.
This isn’t mashed potatoes. This is silk in a bowl. She cooks Yukon Golds until creamy, pushes them through a food mill, and blends them with hot milk and butter in proportions that basically eliminate the potato’s will to resist. The result is velvety, glossy, insanely smooth — almost like the potatoes melted, or transcended, or joined the witness protection program because they no longer resemble anything starchy.
When I served it, people stopped mid-conversation. Someone whispered “oh my God.” Another person, who normally hates mashed potatoes, took seconds. And I, who am very serious about carbs, immediately declared this the only potato dish I will make for every holiday going forward until the end of time.
Here’s why it won so definitively:
It goes with everything. Turkey, beef, lamb, chicken — the purée doesn’t compete; it compliments.
It reheats like a dream. Most mashed potatoes turn into paste by day two. These stayed silky.
It tastes high-end without being complicated. Three ingredients plus patience equals Michelin energy.
It makes people think you’re a better cook than you actually are. A priceless trait.
So yes, I made six of Ina’s potatoes. Yes, they were all good. Yes, my kitchen looked like a starch-covered war zone afterward. But that French potato purée? That one changed the tone of the whole holiday. It wasn’t just food — it was a moment.
And now, like Ina would say, I’ll be making it “forever and ever.”
