Recipe

Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic and Cream Cheese

Photo by WinnieAb

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Mashed Potatoes
Chef
WinnieAb's Notes: This is the mashed potato recipe I always fall back on, whether I'm make them for dinner on a weeknight or for Thanksgiving...I can't remember where the idea to add cream cheese came from...
This is the mashed potato recipe I always fall back on, whether I'm make them for dinner on a weeknight or for Thanksgiving...I can't remember where the idea to add cream cheese came from (Martha Stewart maybe?), but I really like what it brings to the table, so to speak. You can make these without the roasted garlic, but I love the subtle garlicky flavor it adds; I roast my whole heads of garlic in foil in a 400 degree F oven for about 40 minutes, then pop the cooked cloves out of their skins to use in this recipe.

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Cloves from 2 heads garlic, previously roasted Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 cup half and half or cream- optional Ask a question about this ingredient

Course sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Ask a question about this ingredient

Place potatoes in a large pot on the stove. Add water to cover.
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Bring water to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are very tender.
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Remove from heat and pour off almost all of the water.
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Add the roasted garlic to the potatoes and using a potato masher, mash for 1-2 minutes. Add the butter, cream cheese, and optional cream and mash some more. I like my mashed potatoes to have some texture, but you can mash them as much as you like.
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Taste and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and garnish with the minced chives, if desired.
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