New Chef Mashed Potatoes

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 10 medium potatoes
• 1/2 lb butter
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Recipe

• 1 boil 1 gallon of water in a 2 gallon cooking pot, covered. do not add salt.
• 2 meanwhile, peel the potatoes and then cut each in half. rinse them and drop them into a bowl of cold tap water. (you should be using nice-sized potatoes, large enough to bake -- sized between medium and large).
• 3 when the water begins a good rolling boil, drain the potatoes from the cool water and drop them into the pot. cover the pot until it begins to re-boil, then remove the lid and reduce the heat until the potatoes are cooking at a low boil, uncovered.
• 4 when the potatoes are "fork-tender," drain them in a colander and return them to the pot (no heat). cut in the two sticks of butter, add the salt and pepper, and then begin mashing the potatoes with a hand masher. (do not use a hand mixer -- this generates "whipped" potatoes which can be a bit gluey).
• 5 when the potatoes are pretty well mashed, begin adding the milk, 1/4 cup at a time, and stir until the desired consistency is achieved. you may not end up using the entire cup, or, you may end up using a bit more -- potato moisture varies widely.
• 6 if you get them too thin, just re-warm them over very low heat, stirring frequently, uncovered, until they stiffen back up.
• 7 serve hot.
• 8 note: as you choose, you can modify these mashed potatoes by adding sour cream, garlic salt (not too much!), parmesan cheese, etc. honestly, i like the basic recipe, with no additions, the best.