Perfect Mashed Potatoes

Step 1

Fill a 5-6 quart pot half full of cold water.

Step 2

Peel the potatoes and as you peel them, place them in the cold water.

Step 3

After all the potatoes are peeled, remove them one at a time and cut the Russet into 1-inch sized pieces and the yellow into ½-inch sized pieces. (The Russet cook quicker than the yellow so cutting the yellow smaller will assure that all the cut potatoes cook at the same time.)

Step 4

As you cut them, put them back into the water. If needed, add more water so they are covered.

Step 5

Add 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and bring to a boil. Time ten minutes then check one with a fork and if done, pour into a colander to drain. Ours took exactly ten minutes.

Step 6

While potatoes are cooking place milk or cream along with butter, pepper and garlic powder in a small sauce pan and heat just until butter melts. Do not boil. Remove from heat.

Step 7

Pour cooked potatoes back into the pot and place the pot back over high heat and stir with a wooden spoon until any liquid on the bottom evaporates, about 30 seconds to one minute, no longer.

Step 8

Off heat, add the contents of the sauce pan to the potatoes (no additional salt is needed) and mash using a potato masher to your desired consistency. We like ours with small lumps.

Step 9

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.