I imagine so, mama!

Being aged 42- and raised in the boring rural mid-west where food was (is) pretty mainstream and not "unusual" at all, raised in my teensy l'il farm-town, I knew of only "regular" mashed potatoes growing-up.

I remember at 18 leaving home, traveling to Chicago and beginning my apprenticeship at a country club and being amazed that you could make mashed potatoes with the peel still left on! (Lordy- how SQUARE was I? Ha!)

Then I became aware of horseradish mashed, parmesan mashed, and eventually 'taters w/ every added ingredient from caviar, to smoked sturgeon, to shaved truffle!

But here in my original neck o'the woods where I find myself living again? Still, anything above & beyond plain ol' S&P is still considered "uppity" or at the very least "foreign"! Ha!

Well Kev -

coming from an very strict Italian family - I've seen the "rulers" (men of the family) throw things off the table if they didn't like it or approve of it -

thank heaven mom was tough - eat what you want and don't make a sound about what others are eating - or you won't get fed - period!

my great uncles were &#^@#'s at the table - and they never shut up - cripe they would flap their jaws till they died - even gluing their mouth shut in the coffin didn't help if you ask me! put a bottle of ketchup on the table and it went flying!

my dad was not like that - mom would have beat the tar out of him

we got to eat many foods - not just our traditional family meals - that's the way it should be

I still can't handle mashed potatoes with peels in them. I have always liked mine white and creamy. I go so far as to use white pepper in them. I hate to even miss a blemish on a potato and get that dark spot in my bowl of spuds. The first time I had Mashed potatoes with the peels in them, I just thought to myself, "how lazy a person must be to not peel potatoes". To me, that's a trend that should never have been started, lol. Throws them off the table.
I have had something like mashed potatoes but different. The dish used many root vegetables, Horseradish, potatoes, turnips, parsnips and such. I actually really enjoyed all these items whipped with butter and cream and seasoned just right.

I agree with you about mashed potatoes - I enjoy potato skins - just not in my mashed potatoes.

Whew, glad Mama didn't smack me upside the head for throwing food.