Mashed potatoes and 3-D movies

My 5-year-old son experiences a number of firsts, which we duly celebrate, mark on calendars, write about in Web postings, and retell of to relatives and friends.

But as I near the half-century mark, I'm surprised by the number of firsts I still experience. Just this past week, I added seeing my first movie in 3-D and making mashed potatoes to my list of life experiences.

So how have I managed to never have made mashed potatoes in all my 48 years? I was pondering this with my exercise buddy the other day. I believe I know why.

When I watched my mother make mashed potatoes as a little girl, it was always at that critical time when she was trying to get all of the food ready and onto the table -- as well as get everyone to the table -- before the food cooled.

My questions of how much milk or butter to put in the potatoes would be answered by a frustrated-sounding, "You just know." And she never seemed satisfied -- "too lumpy" or "too runny" or "not enough salt," she would say -- as she critiqued the finished product. I and the rest of my family gobbled them up, oblivious.

But I grew up believing making mashed potatoes was one of the hardest things to do. When I hosted Thanksgiving dinners and guests asked what they could bring or do, I always offered for someone else to make the mashed potatoes. I satisfied my own mashed potato cravings with baked potatoes smothered in butter.

Last month, as I was mashing potatoes for knishes, I realized how close I was to making real mashed potatoes. It didn't seem that difficult. So I made some this week. The verdict: slightly lumpy and not enough salt.