Glorious Garlic Mashed Potatoes

One of the best weddings (food wise) I have ever been to was in Cleveland, Ohio of all places. If you've been to Ohio you know that they don't have much to offer except Cedar Point, and, well, Cleveland. And even that is a stretch. But on this one magical evening Cleveland was transforemed into a miraculous place that offered nothing but amazingly delicious food. The wedding was held at the Cleveland Natural History Musueum, and let me tell you the food spread was incredable. Mountains of fish, antipasto, and slabs of meat. But most notable was the mashed potato bar. Yes, a bar consisting of mashed potatoes with a full line of toppings served in martini glasses. It was so good I completley forgot about the fact that I had attended the wedding solo, and my crippling fear of dying alone. IT WAS THAT GOOD.

Maybe the mashed potato bar would not be as life changing for some, but I really like mashed potatoes. I like them with everything. Really, everything. Pork chops, fried chicken, spaghetti, on top pizza. Mashed potatoes are economical. You can make a huge pot of mashed potatoes and eat them with weird combinations of food all week (at least I do). In addition to pairing them with basically anything I can find, I like to top them with delicious things such as roasted red peppers, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, caramelized onions, and kale (many toppings inspired by that legendary mashed potato bar).

In order for your own strange combinations to begin, here is my Glorious Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe!

Tools You'll Need

Large Sauce Pot

Knife and cutting board

Potato masher or hand beaters

Garlic Press

Ingredients

10 Medium russet potatoes*

8 Tbsp butter

1/2 Cup Milk

1/2 Cup sour cream

7 Garlic cloves (pressed)

1 Tbsp dried oregano

1 Tbsp thyme

Salt/Pepper to taste

First wash and chop the potatoes. You want hardy chunks. I do not peel my potatoes, the skin gives the dish more texture, but feel free to peel away if you prefer. Add them to boiling water and cook (about 20 minutes) until potatoes are soft but not falling apart. Drain potatoes and return them to pot. Add butter, milk, sour cream, and garlic and begin to blend. You can either use a basic potato masher, or a hand mixer. The basic masher will give you chunkier potatoes, and the hand mixer smoother, so it's up to you on your texture preference.

As for toppings, this time around I roasted red and yellow bell peppers (cut peppers, rub olive oil on them and put them in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes), sautéed kale, and fresh tomatoes. Finally, I grated some pecorino romano cheese on top of everything!

*I used russet potatoes (due to being extremely poor), but feel free to use any other variety. Red or yukon potatoes will give you creamer mashed potatoes.