LIGHT AND FLUFFY MASHED POTATOES

Steps:

• 1. Pick a bag of Russet potatoes in which the potatoes are mostly the same size for easy chopping.
• 2. Peel the potatoes.
• 3. Chop the potatoes so they are a good size and evenly chopped. Place them in a bowl.
• 4. Fill the bowl with water and stir the potatoes around. The potatoes will release a starchy cloudiness in the water.
• 5. Pour the potatoes into a strainer and rinse them with water.
• 6. Pour the potatoes back in the bowl. Fill the bowl with water and stir around again. The water should be clear. If the water is still cloudy repeat step 5.
• 7. Strain the potatoes and carefully drop into a pot of boiling water.
• 8. Add salt to the water and cook the potatoes in the pot of hot water for 15 to 20 minutes (depending on the size of the chunks of potatoes). The potatoes, when dropped into the pot, will cool down the water slightly and the water won't boil at first. That's ok, start your timer as soon as you drop them. Cover with a lid; check, and stir them occasionally.
• 9. When they are fork tender, strain the potatoes and rinse under water to get any starchy water off.
• 10. Put a handful of potatoes in the ricer and push through. Don't put too many potatoes in the ricer at once or it becomes hard to work with.
• 11. Rice all the hot potatoes.
• 12. Pour melted butter onto potatoes.
• 13. Next, pour in the warm half and half.
• 14. Gently fold in the butter and milk with a rubber spatula.
• 15. Finally, add salt and pepper to taste. Gently fold and taste as you go. Salting the water and using salted butter will reduce how much salt you have to fold in so you don't have to work your beautiful fluffy potatoes too much.
• 16. The results, a bowl of light and fluffy mashed potatoes!