THE BEST MAKE-AHEAD MASHED POTATOES

The Best Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes image

From America's Test Kitchen cookbook titled The Best Make-Ahead Recipe. This is what mashed potatoes are supposed to taste like. Roasting the pototoes instead of boiling adds to the rich potato flavor and folding in the cream and butter at the end prevents them from becoming gluey. The mashed potatoes can be made up to 2 days in advance and I love that they heat in the microwave instead of the oven for serving . . . also I love that I didn't have to peel, cube, and boil a single potato! Great for when your oven is tied up with other dishes. I made this for Easter dinner and it fed 8 adults and 2 children and the bowl was scraped clean.

Provided by muncheechee

Time 1h10m

Yield 8-10 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 5

Ingredients

5 lbs russet potatoes, scrubbed and poked several times with a fork
3 cups heavy cream, hot
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons salt, add more to taste
black pepper, to taste (optional)

Steps:

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 450 degrees.
Microwave the potatoes on high for 16 minutes, turning them over once.
Transfer potatoes to oven and place directly on the oven rack. Bake about 30 minutes, turning once, or until a skewer glides easily through the flesh.
Remove from from oven and cut each potato in half lengthwise.
Using an oven mitt or folded kitchen towel to hold the hot potatoes, scrape out the flesh into a large microwave-safe bowl.
Use a fork, masher, or spatula, break the potato flesh into small pieces.
Transfer half of the potatoes to a mixer bowl and beat on high speed with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 30 seconds. (I used a hand mixer with the standard beaters and it worked fine but definitely use a stand mixer if you have it.)
Gradually add the rest of the potatoes to incorporate until no lumps remain, 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove bowl from mixer and gently fold in 2 cups of the cream followed by the butter and 2 tsp of salt. (This will look way too wet at first but keep folding and it will all come together without being soupy).
Fold in up to 1/2 cup more cream as needed to reach desired consistency.
Once desired consistency is reached, fold in an additional 1/2 cup cream. The potatoes will be quite loose at this point but this is neccesary to prevent them drying out overnight. You may skip adding the additional cream if you want to serve the potatoes immediately.
Add any additional seasonings you desire (I like adding parmesan and roasted garlic).
TO STORE: Transfer the potatoes back to the large microwave-safe bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to 2 days.
TO SERVE: Poke lots of holes in the plastic wrap and microwave at 75% power until the potatoes are hot, about 14 minutes, stirring gently halfway through.