Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

For the past 2 days I have had a bizarre craving for roasted garlic mashed potatoes. And as I stood in line at Safeway with the rest of my fellow Washingtonians (for background, check out this link http://snowpocalypsedc.com), I realized I had forgotten the garlic. How could I possibly survive a 28-inch snowstorm without these garlic mashed potatoes I had been craving? I wasn't sure if I could trust that the people in line behind me would let me back in, but thankfully, the mob mentallity had not set in yet. So to all of those people who let me get back in line, this post is for you (which actually, in that moment, I wished I had cute hot-pink Capital Chef business cards, so I could tell all of those people to check out my post....it feels too soon for something like that---maybe on the blog's 6-month anniversary, I'll reconsider the idea.)

Everyone has their own little touch they like to add to their mashed potatoes, and I have more than one recipe myself. Actually, I have an absolutely explosively fattening recipe that I'll save for another day---a day when I am doing more than just sitting on the couch and watching the snow accumulate on the windowsill. Also, I don't have any fancy potato ricer or food mill or whatever else people call for...I just use a mixer, and I can't really taste the difference.

Here is what you will need:



Step 1. Let's roast the garlic! Oh, this stuff is good, and our entire apartment smells amazing. I actually roasted a little too much garlic, but I'm saving it for a soup I'll be making tomorrow. NEVER EVER throw away roasted garlic. I hear some people just spread it directly on bread like it is some sort of butter spread.
Anyway, Heat oven to 425 degrees. Slice tops off garlic heads. Coat the heads with olive oil, and wrap heads in aluminum foil.



Step 2. Bake for about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, and let them cool for a bit. They will look golden and delcious like this.



Step 3. Remove all of the little garlic cloves. I end up kind of just squeezing them out of their shells. Set these aside, and we'll mix them in with the potatoes in the final step.



Step 4: Chop the potatoes and boil them with the chicken broth. I diced them pretty small, so it took only around 20 minutes to cook. Also, I kept the skin on. This is a matter of preference. I happen to enjoy the more "rustic" version.
Just check on the potatoes every 5 minutes or so and if you can easily pierce them with a fork, they're ready. When you drain the potatoes, be sure to set aside at least a 1/4 of a cup of the chicken broth. I did this by draining the potatoes in a colander with a large bowl sitting underneath.







Step 4: Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl, and blend in the cream, butter, and 1/4 cup of chicken broth that was set aside. Now, you can put in more or less of the cream and butter. The honest basic rule of thumb with mashed potatoes is, butter=better. I'm trying to not go overboard though, since this is just a weeknight meal for me and my husband.



Step 5: With a spoon, mix in the garlic. Also, sprinkle the mixture generously with ground pepper.
You can also sprinkle in salt to taste. I actually didn't end up putting any in. I find that by using the chicken broth, it really isn't necessary.




Step 6: Enjoy! But try not be offended if people take a step back when you are talking to them---that was a lot of garlic we just put in there.



List of ingredients:
N.B. This recipe is easily doubled, tripled, etc.

2.5 lbs golden potatoes (other varieties work)
1 large head of garlic (or 2 smaller ones)
6 cups of chicken broth (or enough to cover potatoes)
1 cup of cream (heavy or light, depending on your New Year's Resolution)
2-4 tablespoons of butter
salt
coarse ground pepper