Mashed potatoes are great… and that’s selling them pretty short. But add in garlic and cheese and you’ve got yourself a real winner!

MASHED POTATOES WITH ROASTED GARLIC AND CHEDDAR CHEESE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large garlic head

• 2 tsp. olive oil

• 2 ½ lb. Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes (diced medium)

• ¾-1 cup whole milk

• 1 stick of butter

• ¼ lb. medium to sharp Cheddar cheese (shredded)

• 1 tsp. Kosher salt

• 1 tsp. ground pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350˚ Fahrenheit.

2. Cut the very top portion of the garlic head off so that you can see the garlic tops inside the bulb. Place cut side of garlic bulb, cut side down on an olive oil coated double piece of aluminum foil. Seal the aluminum foil tightly around the bulb and place in the oven for approximately 45 minutes. Let the garlic sit, wrapped, until cool. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of their skins and either mash with fork or place in food processor.

3. Wash the potatoes and cut into medium pieces. Place in a very large stock pot with salted water and boil until a knife can be cleanly inserted and taken out easily through the middle of one of them. This should be about 25–30 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.

4. In another pot, heat the milk and butter together until the milk is warm and the butter has melted.

5. Mix the potatoes in a heavy duty mixer using the whisk attachment. Add the cheese, one half of the milk/butter mixture* and one half of the mashed garlic. Begin your mixing on slow speed and then increase speed. If the potatoes are too dry, add more milk. Continue mixing until they are light and fluffy. Add salt and pepper adjusting if needed.

*Note: The reason for adding just half of the milk to begin with has to do with a lot of different things (how moist the potatoes are, the outside environment, etc.) You can always add more milk, however, you can’t take it away.