Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Don't you just love making food that reminds you of a $100 dinner out but for less money and with no chance of driving while intoxicated?

No?  It's just me.

Nevermind, then.

This is one of my favorite things to make for the weekend - what could possibly be better than a cozy steakhouse meal that involves ROASTED GARLIC?  Seriously.  Nothing.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I think it goes without saying that for these you could just add roasted garlic to any old mashed potato recipe you like - roasted garlic is SUCH  great addition to any potato recipe - you'll love it!

Here's what you need:

• 7 medium potatoes - any kind you like!
• 1 stick butter (less if you're a prude - it's a lot of potatoes!)
• 1 cup milk or half and half
• 2 heads garlic
• salt and pepper

To roast the garlic, turn your oven to 425F.  Wrap whole heads of garlic in tin foil and place them in the oven for 45 minutes.  The outsides of the bulbs will be very papery and the insides will be SUPER SOFT.  I've heard of recipes where you cut the garlic then add oil and salt and THEN roast it, but that seems like it adds calories and, frankly, puts the garlic more at risk for burning because the skin is cut and the cloves are exposed to the elements of, you know, a super hot oven.  So, this method works best for me.

When the garlic comes out, let it cool so you don't burn your dang hands.  Then take off any papery outside skin so it doesn't get in the way, leaving the skin that doesn't fall off easily.

Then, cut each head in half crosswise to split each clove.

This smells SO good.  I could have cooked mine even longer but ran out of time - the garlic will be a deep caramel color and squishy.  To remove the garlic, just squeeze the head halves until the garlic squishes out, and toss the skins.

Now you have a pile of slimy, sticky, sweet, yummy roasted garlic.  It's amazing how different the taste is after roasting the garlic!  Fabulous.  To process the garlic, sprinkle it with just a little salt.

Then, run your knife over and over the salted garlic - the salt will help mash the garlic!

YUM that's good.  Set it aside until you're ready to stir it into the potatoes - you can do this a few days in advance if you think of it!

For the potatoes, I leave the skins on - they're so good that way!  Scrub them really well - dirt in food is unappealing to some.

Cut the potatoes into large cubes - don't obsess over it, but try to make them all the same size so they cook evenly.

Put the potatoes in a big pot, and cover them with water.

Turn your stove to high, and add lots of salt to the pot - at least 2 tablespoons.

Ahhhh salt is good.  Cover the potatoes and bring the water to a boil.  Take the lid off when the water starts to boil so you don't make a huge mess!  Let the potatoes boil for 10-15 minutes until a fork slides EASILY into one of the chunks.  Then, drain the potatoes and add back to the pot with the butter and half the milk.

Delicious.  Now, I use a potato masher, but you can use an electric mixer if you like smoother potatoes!  Begin mixing the potatoes, adding more milk and pepper as you go until you get the consistency you want.

I love peppery potatoes.  Once you've mashed them about halfway, add in the garlic and keep stirring and tasting until you have perfect garlicky potatoes.

And that's it!  These go REALLY well with flank steak and chimichurri sauce, which we will discuss next.  Enjoy!