Mashed Potatoes

by Lucas
Created
Imported from cooking.nytimes.com

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

This homemade mashed potatoes recipe is very forgiving, resulting in the best mashed potatoes. With a good masher, hot potatoes and enough butter and salt, this mashed potatoes recipe is easy and open to variations.

Ingredients

  • 2.5 pounds potatoes (about 6 large potatoes)
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • Salt
  • Black pepper, white pepper, garlic powder (optional for flavor)

Directions

  1. In a large pot, bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons salt to a boil over high heat. Peel and quarter potatoes and keep in cold water until ready to cook. (This can be done up to 4 hours in advance.) Add potatoes to boiling water and boil about 15 to 20 minutes, until soft; a knife should go in with almost no resistance. (It is better to overcook than to undercook.)
  2. In a saucepan or a microwave oven, heat butter and milk together until butter melts. Drain potatoes well and return to pot. Shake them around in the hot pan or over very low heat for a minute (you want dry potatoes). Mash the hot potatoes until smooth. Lightly mix in about half of hot butter mixture, just until blended. Taste for salt, add optional pepper and garlic powder to taste, and add more butter mixture until seasoned to your liking.
  3. Stop here for fluffy potatoes. For creamy potatoes, keep stirring potato mixture, using a sturdy spoon to press it against sides and bottom of pot. Mix until it's the consistency you like.