One of the most enduring American fantasies seems to be that of the big Norman Rockwell-style holiday dinner with extended family all gathered around a table piled high with numerous dishes. What ol' Norm failed to acknowledge (or at least, to illustrate) is just how much work goes into making such a meal. This is why most cooks tend to do a lot of the prep work ahead of time — in fact, making food ahead of time is .
If you've made your mashed potatoes well in advance of your main course, though, how do you keep them warm? If you're celebrity chef Rachael Ray, you use a bain-marie. A bain-marie might sound fancy (since just about everything does in French), but it simply refers to a water bath or double boiler. Ray takes her pot of potatoes and sticks it on top of a bigger pot filled with simmering water, although a dedicated double boiler with a lid would also work.
She covers the potato pot sitting on top with a lid, sets the burner to low, and manages to keep the potatoes fluffy for hours with minimal effort. One caveat with this stovetop method, though, is that even on the lowest heat setting, there's a chance that the water could evaporate before you're ready to eat so you'll need to check and refill it as necessary. If you don't have a spare burner, these other methods work just as well Rachael Ray's potato-warming method may be all well and good if you have a burner to spare, but if you're juggling pots full of gravy, cranberry sauce, collard greens, and other Thanks.