Mashed Potatoes

Submitted by Jonathan([Category:Gravy])

I peel a shitload of potatoes, boil them up, drain the water, add some butter, lots of fresh ground pepper, a bit of milk and some sour cream, and mash/whip them until smooth. Start with a little bit of milk and keep mashing and adding more until it's right for you. Some like it chunky and others like it whipped smooth. I like it in between. Also, I like leaving a bit of potato skin in there.

Ingredients

• Potatoes (roughly 1.5 large potatoes per serving, I use 8 large which leaves some leftovers)
• 2 - 4 tbl spoons butter or margarine
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Milk
• 1 cup sour cream

Method

• Peel potatoes (you can leave bits of potato skin on the spuds if you wish. Some prefer to skins in the final dish, others enjoy the added texture from some skin.
• In a large pot, boil water 2/3rds full, add 1 tsp salt
• Cut potatoes into chunks, roughly 1/2 the size of your computer mouse
• Once water is boiling, add potato chunks, reduce heat slightly as to prevent boiling over and having your girl bitch because you made the house smell like burnt starch. I hate her bitching.
• Boil for 20 minutes until you can slide a fork into the potato chunks without much effort. If you're not sure how to tell if they're done or not, try sliding in a fork after 5 mins of boiling, your should be able to feel the difference between the cooked and uncoooked "core" of the potato. 20 minutes is a rough guess, you may need more or less time. It's much better to overcook than under cook.
• Once cooked, drain water, and add butter, pepper, sour cream. Do not add the milk yet.
• Mash potatoes with a potato masher until they're all mashed. Add 1/2 cup of milk and mash thoroughly. Keep adding milk and mashing until potatoes are of a desired smoothness. If you wish, try whipping the potatoes with an electric egg beater. This will turn them into a smooth whip-cream like consistency and may also increase the volume that they take up.

You can then add a chicken, turkey or beef gravy, or a dab of butter to the top and serve.