15 Ways Ina Garten Elevates Classic Potato Dishes

There would not be a "Barefoot Contessa" without host and food guru Ina Garten. She started her lifelong career in food as the owner of the Barefoot Contessa, a small specialty foods store in the Hamptons. Garten eventually published several cookbooks, including 1999's best-seller "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook," "Barefoot Contessa at Home," "Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics," "Make it Ahead," and "Cooking for Jeffrey" (her husband). In 2006, the food star introduced a line of cookware products, including baking mixes and sauces, with business partner Frank Newbold. Ina Garten has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in food media and never fails to provide practical advice to home cooks.

One of the foods Garten has been the most prolific about in her books, media collaborations, and television show is the humble spud. She suggests many ways to amp up the flavors and textures of classic potato dishes — all of which can be replicated by her dedicated home cook audience. Here are some of Ina Garten's best tips for upgrading potatoes.

Ina Garten never skimps on flavor. Her recipe for garlic mashed potatoes features a game-changing method that will forever improve how you make this flavor-forward side dish. Rather than just using mediocre garlic powder or a bit of minced garlic, Garten uses garlic cloves and garlic-infused oil to make her recipe. Rather than roasting her garlic, Garten sticks to the stovetop by adding equal parts oil and garlic cloves to a pan over medium heat. When the mixture starts to sizzle, Garten turns down the heat to a simmer until the cloves begin to show brown spots and are soft.

Then, Garten cools the mixture for about 30 minutes before transferring the cloves and the oil to the rest of the potatoes. This method gives a ton of garlic-forward flavor that pairs well with meats or other side dishes you're serving. Just make sure you make enough potatoes because everyone will surely want a spoonful (or two).

Who doesn't love cheesy potatoes? Although the most common cheese paired with mashed potatoes is surely cheddar, Ina Garten has another top contender to mix with the classic side dish. The flavor-packed cheese she adds to her mashed potatoes is goat cheese.

In her "Make It Ahead" cookbook, Garten suggested adding goat cheese to add a new layer of complexity to her Yukon gold mashed potatoes. Her favorite cheese for this recipe is Montrachet; a soft cheese with a subtle flavor that easily mixes into the potatoes. Her garlic and herb goat cheese is always softened to room temperature to further ensure it combines with the other ingredients. In addition, Garten uses fresh garlic cloves, butter, sour cream, and a splash of half-and-half to make her goat cheese mashed potatoes even more creamy.

Garten recommends folks stir in the goat cheese while the potatoes are still hot before passing it through a food mill. To upgrade the cheesiness of your dish, Garten notes that you can add the mashed potatoes to a baking tray with a layer of Parmesan on top and bake until brown and crisp.

It's hard not to love mashed potatoes. But there is always room to improve your mashed potatoes with other root vegetables. Ina Garten makes a parsnip mash as an alternative to mashed potatoes — and we can guarantee you it's a much more fun way to get your veggies in. Plus, the recipe couldn't be any simpler; you'll just need parsnips, salt, pepper, and butter. This root vegetable has a slightly more pronounced organic flavor than potatoes and does not gum up as quickly as potatoes do. This is because parsnips have a significantly lower starch content than potatoes, meaning they only get smoother the more you mash them.

Garten's recipe for parsnip mash doesn't require any of the fatty dairy products (like sour cream) that her other recipes call for. Instead, just use a little bit of the leftover boiling water to help make your dish deliciously smooth and creamy.

Lemon is an ingredient typically reserved for chicken piccata and lemon meringue pie, but the Barefoot Contessa proves that it can be used for potato dishes, too. It's the refreshing ingredient she adds to puréed potatoes.

The key to Garten's recipe is to use a full tablespoon of freshly grated lemon zest for every 2.5 pounds of Yukon gold potatoes. After Garten boils the potatoes, she adds them to a food mill to purée them before mixing them with butter and hot milk. She adds a pinch of salt and the zest at the end of the preparation process — noting that letting the zest sit with the potatoes can cause them to become bitter with time. The Barefoot Contessa notes that this potato dish can be prepared beforehand, but the zest should only be whisked into the potatoes right before serving.

Is there a difference between smashed and mashed potatoes? Unlike mashed potatoes, which have the skins removed for a creamy, smooth texture, smashed potatoes leave the skin on for a more rustic texture. Ina Garten's recipe for smashed potatoes is relatively simple and includes the help of several dairy ingredients — mainly sour cream and Parmesan cheese — to help make this side dish all the more perfect.

Ina Garten uses waxy red potatoes for this recipe; the skin provides a more unique consistency compared to a bland Yukon or yellow potato. Once the potatoes are boiled and drained, Garten combines half-and-half with butter in a saucepan on the stove. She then adds the mixture to the potatoes before finishing the mix with sour cream, freshly grated Parmesan, and seasonings. Garten recommends adding more hot cream and butter if the mixture is too thick.

Potato salad is a staple for entertaining, picnics, and lunches with friends. Who doesn't love the taste of starchy boiled potatoes with a creamy backdrop?

Ina Garten's rendition of potato salad features familiar (and unfamiliar) ingredients. She starts by using white potatoes, boiled and steamed with a kitchen towel. Then, she prepares her dressing with a few common ingredients like mayonnaise, dill, and seasonings. But then, she gets a little unconventional by adding buttermilk, Dijon mustard, and whole-grain mustard to the mix. The buttermilk imparts a lovely tang to the potato salad, while the mustards provide a depth of flavor incomparable to other ingredients. The Barefoot Contessa also recommends adding chopped red onion and celery to the salad for a bit of texture. Finally, she notes that leaving the salad in the fridge for a few hours is critical to allow all of the flavors to come together, although the salad itself can be served cold or at room temperature.

Gratin sounds like a fancy dish, but it is simple to make. A gratin is a dish (not exclusive to potatoes) made in a shallow baking pan and browned with a layer of cheese or breadcrumbs and butter. Ina Garten amps up the flavor of her gratin by using fennel and Gruyère cheese.

Garten begins by sautéing the thinly sliced fennel stalks in a pan with butter, olive oil, and yellow onion. Next, she adds this mixture to the peeled and mandoline-sliced potatoes (thin and equally-sized is key) with heavy cream, ample amounts of cheese, and salt and pepper. Then, she transfers the mixture to a greased baking dish, tops it with more cheese, and bakes the tray for over an hour. This side dish is perfect for serving with poultry or red meat; the fennel provides a bit of texture without removing the creaminess of the cheese and the potatoes.