A little history
This ran the day after Thanksgiving 1947, which makes it feel like a note to self for next year. The "new style" seems to be the method: cook the potatoes in just a little water, let most of it cook away, then warm them in the milk and butter right in the same pan before mashing. There's no draining and no second pot.
It also came at an expensive time to be cooking. 1947 was the first full year without wartime price controls on food, and food prices hit one record high after another, rising about 11 percent over the year. A week after this ran, the New York Times reported that top-grade butter would sell for 95 cents to $1 a pound. So when the recipe says "butter or margarine," that "or" was doing real work.
The original recipe
Mashed Potatoes, New Style
Cut two pounds of small potatoes into eighths and cook them in about two cups of salted boiling water in a slope-sided pan. When the potatoes are cooked, let them stand in the pan over low heat until the small quantity of cooking water still remaining evaporates to about two tablespoons. Then add one-half cup of milk and two to three tablespoons of butter or margarine. Let the potatoes stand in the milk and fat mixture still over low heat for from six to ten minutes; then just before serving, do the mashing and whipping operations at the same time by using a looped wire masher or a perforated steel disk masher. Allowing the potatoes and milk to heat together keeps them warm until ready to mash just before serving; it also softens them and so makes mashing easier. The slope-sided saucepan proved to be more efficient than a straight-sided one.
A few letters are cut off at the edge of the clipping. I've filled them in where the meaning was clear.
What to use today
Serves 4
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2 pounds small potatoes, such as Yukon Gold or red potatoes
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2 cups water
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1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
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½ cup whole milk
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2 to 3 tablespoons butter
What to use today
Serves 4
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2 pounds small potatoes, such as Yukon Gold or red potatoes
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2 cups water
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1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
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½ cup whole milk
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2 to 3 tablespoons butter
Method
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Cut the potatoes into eighths. Peel them first if you like; the original doesn't say either way.
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Bring the water and salt to a boil in a wide pan with sloped sides, like a sauté pan or saucier.
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Add the potatoes, cover, and simmer until tender, about 12 to 15 minutes.
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Uncover and keep the pan over low heat until only about 2 tablespoons of water is left. Don't drain it.
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Add the milk and butter. Leave the pan over low heat for 6 to 10 minutes so the potatoes soak up the milk and stay warm.
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Right before serving, mash and whip them in the pan with a potato masher. Taste and add salt.
A few things worth knowing
Don't drain the potatoes. The little bit of cooking water that's left goes right into the mash.
The sloped pan matters. The recipe says a slope-sided pan worked better than a straight-sided one. A wide pan also helps the water cook off faster.
Watch the heat. Once the water is almost gone, keep it low so the potatoes don't stick or scorch.
It's a good make-ahead trick. Resting the potatoes in warm milk and butter holds them until dinner is ready. Mash at the last minute.
Those mashers are still around. The "looped wire masher" and "perforated steel disk masher" are the two classic potato masher shapes. Either one works.
Good with
Turkey and gravy, of course, and the 1941 Pumpkin Rolls. It's also a good way to keep the stovetop clear on Thanksgiving, since everything happens in one pan.
Sources:
"Mashed Potatoes, New Style," The Standard-Star (New Rochelle, New York), November 28, 1947. Via Newspapers.com: https://www.newspapers.com/paper/the-standard-star/26918/
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Retail Prices of Food, 1946 and 1947, Bulletin No. 938: https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/retail-prices-food-3963/retail-prices-food-1946-1947-494945
Joint Economic Committee, Food Prices, Production, and Consumption, 80th Congress: https://www.jec.senate.gov/reports/80th%20Congress/Food%20Prices,%20Production,%20and%20Consumption%20(3).pdf
"Top Grade Butter to Sell at 95c–$1 a Pound," The New York Times, December 7, 1947: https://www.nytimes.com/1947/12/07/archives/top-grade-butter-to-sell-at-95c1-a-pound.html