Mashed Potatoes

One of my assignments this Thanksgiving was to make some mashed potatoes. I usually boil some potatoes, add a bunch of heavy cream, melted butter, sour cream, salt and pepper, mash them with the skin on with a whisk...and they are usually awesome.

This year I decided to change it up a bit and make a more refined mashed potato with tons of butter.

It worked out great. I boiled 5 lb of small Yukon gold potatoes with the skin still on, drained them and let them dry a bit (to try and keep the potatoes dry). I then passed them through a food mill and removed most of the skin. I added about two cups of whole milk and then the fun began. I added three pounds of just colder than room temp butter. I added it a bit at a time and stirred it with a wooden spoon until it all incorporated. They were just seasoned with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Wow, these potatoes were great. The texture was super smooth and the flavor was rich and buttery, but without any waxiness or greasiness (which happens when you add pre melted butter). They took a bit longer to make than the recipe in the book, but it was worth the effort for a great change of pace.