For my family, mashed potatoes are more than just a side dish – they’re a cherished staple that brings everyone together. And while I’ve tried to introduce healthier options, nothing quite compares to the comfort and satisfaction of creamy mashed potatoes. That is until I stumbled upon a TikTok tip that completely transformed this classic dish.
User Jourdyn, known as @jeauxp on TikTok, shared a brilliant twist on traditional mashed potatoes – using chicken stock. Intrigued by this unconventional idea, I decided to give it a try and see if it could live up to the hype.
To my surprise and delight, the results were absolutely phenomenal. The chicken stock infused the potatoes with a subtle umami flavor, taking their taste to a whole new level. And here’s the best part – leaving the skins on while boiling added a rustic texture that was simply irresistible.
Encouraged by this newfound culinary revelation, I continued to experiment. One of my favorite variations was adding sour cream and chives to the mashed potatoes. The combination of flavors was out of this world, and the presentation impressed everyone at the table.
But my TikTok culinary journey didn’t stop there. I discovered more incredible tricks along the way. For example, I learned that adding a pinch of nutmeg to spinach can bring a whole new dimension of flavor. And who would have thought that a simple piece of bread could soften hardened brown sugar?
Let me tell you, these unconventional hacks have not only expanded my cooking repertoire but also added a touch of creativity to my meals. It’s amazing how a small twist or unexpected ingredient can completely transform a dish.So, if you’re feeling adventurous, why not consider these unconventional twists the next time you make mashed potatoes? Whether it’s trying out TikTok hacks or experimenting with unexpected ingredients, you never know when you might stumble upon your next favorite recipe. Trust me, your taste buds will thank you!
Child star Mara Wilson, 37, left Hollywood after ‘Matilda’ as she was ‘not cute anymore’
In the early 1990s, the world fell in love with the adorable Mara Wilson, the child actor known for playing the precocious little girl in family classics like Mrs. Doubtfire and Miracle on 34th Street.
The young star, who turned 37 on July 24, seemed poised for success but as she grew older, she stopped being “cute” and disappeared from the big screen.
“Hollywood was burned out on me,” she says, adding that “if you’re not cute anymore, if you’re not beautiful, then you are worthless.
In 1993, five-year-old Mara Wilson stole the hearts of millions of fans when she starred as Robin Williams’ youngest child in Mrs. Doubtfire.
The California-born star had previously appeared in commercials when she received the invitation to star in one of the biggest-grossing comedies in Hollywood history.
“My parents were proud, but they kept me grounded. If I ever said something like, ‘I’m the greatest!’ my mother would remind me, ‘You’re just an actor. You’re just a kid,’” Wilson, now 37, said.
After her big screen debut, she won the role of Susan Walker – the same role played by Natalie Wood in 1947 – in 1994’s Miracle on 34th Street.
In an essay for the Guardian, Wilson writes of her audition, “I read my lines for the production team and told them I didn’t believe in Santa Claus.” Referencing the Oscar-winning actor who played her mom in Mrs. Doubtfire, she continues, “but I did believe in the tooth fairy and had named mine after Sally Field.”
‘Most unhappy’
Next, Wilson played the magical girl in 1996’s Matilda, starring alongside Danny DeVito and his real-life wife Rhea Perlman.
It was also the same year her mother, Suzie, lost her battle with breast cancer.
“I didn’t really know who I was…There was who I was before that, and who I was after that. She was like this omnipresent thing in my life,” Wilson says of the deep grief she experienced after losing her mother. She adds, “I found it kind of overwhelming. Most of the time, I just wanted to be a normal kid, especially after my mother died.”
The young girl was exhausted and when she was “very famous,” she says she “was the most unhappy.”
When she was 11, she begrudgingly played her last major role in the 2000 fantasy adventure film Thomas and the Magic Railroad. “The characters were too young. At 11, I had a visceral reaction to [the] script…Ugh, I thought. How cute,” she tells the Guardian.
‘Burned out’
But her exit from Hollywood wasn’t only her decision.
As a young teenager, the roles weren’t coming in for Wilson, who was going through puberty and outgrowing the “cute.”
She was “just another weird, nerdy, loud girl with bad teeth and bad hair, whose bra strap was always showing.”
“At 13, no one had called me cute or mentioned the way I looked in years, at least not in a positive way,” she says.
Wilson was forced to deal with the pressures of fame and the challenges of transitioning to adulthood in the public eye. Her changing image had a profound effect on her.
“I had this Hollywood idea that if you’re not cute anymore, if you’re not beautiful, then you are worthless. Because I directly tied that to the demise of my career. Even though I was sort of burned out on it, and Hollywood was burned out on me, it still doesn’t feel good to be rejected.”
Mara as the writer
Wilson, now a writer, authored her first book “Where Am I Now? True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame,” in 2016.
The book discusses “everything from what she learned about sex on the set of Melrose Place, to discovering in adolescence that she was no longer ‘cute’ enough for Hollywood, these essays chart her journey from accidental fame to relative (but happy) obscurity.”
She also wrote “Good Girls Don’t” a memoir that examines her life as a child actor living up to expectations.
“Being cute just made me miserable,” she writes in her essay for the Guardian. “I had always thought it would be me giving up acting, not the other way around.”
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