Flavor begins with:

Yukon gold or fingerling potatoes

3-4 big Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes (2 lbs.)
3/4 tsp. kosher salt to taste or an aromatic salt/herb seasoning like Knorr Aromat.
1 head garlic, broken into individual peeled cloves OR the roasted garlic option. see at the bottom.
1/4 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1/2 stick butter
1 Tb’s. chives, chopped + more for garnish
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper (or black)
3 Tbs grated Parmigiano or Reggiano cheese
Chopped chives for garnish and taste. Horseradsish works too. Serves 4 as a side dish

Cook the potatoes

Set a large pot of water to boil on the stove over high heat. While the water’s heating, peel your potatoes. Some prefer to start with cold water, covering the potatoes by some two inches.
Chop your potatoes up into small chunks, add the uncooked garlic. The Roasted garlic would be added at a later stage.
When your water has come up to a boil, toss in some kosher salt and drop your potatoes into the pot. Boil uncovered for about 15 minutes, depending on the size of your potato chunks.
To test, fish a potato chunk out of the pot and press on it with a fork. It should press down easily.
When your potatoes and garlic are cooked through, drain them.

Season your potatoes

Put the cooked chunks back into your empty, hot pot. If you roasted your garlic, you would add them now.  Toss in the butter  With a potato masher,mash the potatoes and garlic to blend and mix in the butter. Add some chopped chives.
Add the sour cream to the potatoes. Pour in the heavy cream. Mix the sour cream and heavy cream in with a wooden spoon until it’s well blended. Season with kosher salt and ground white pepper to taste.
Return to a medium low heat stirring continuously until all is incorporated.
Serve garnished with chopped chives.

Tricks and alternatives to change the tempo:

1. One trick I learned from an old family friend: reserve about 1/4 c. of the starchy water that the potatoes boiled in, and whip that in when you add the creams. If you want a creamy version this is the way to go. Not adding this gives a lumpier version.
2. I tend to add freshly grated Parmesan cheese, paprika, black pepper, onion powder and garlic!
3. The best part about mashed potatoes is making potato cakes from them. Press a handful of cold mashed potato into a cake, dust each side with seasoned flour and fry them in a butter/oil combination. Talk about out of this world! Hot and crunchy on the outside, creamy inside.
4. Germans and other Europeans frequently add a good dollop of ground horseradish to them.
5. American: Crumbled bacon and shredded cheddar cheese
6. Vegan: Minced green herbs and garlic  especially roasted garlic.
7. Mediterranean: Goat cheese, Caramelized onions, roasted garlic and c 3 Tbs grated Parmigiano or Reggiano cheese

Organic Garlic and why: – Hints on storing the product below.

BAKED GARLIC
Peel desired amount of garlic. Or slice the top 1/3 off the heads of the garlic, brush with 1 TBS of olive oil and place the sliced top on. (Italian method)
Place in clay dutch oven proof container. I like a 50/50 ratio. If you have an open container, cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes, or until garlic is very squishy. When cooled, squeeze out the garlic pulp. Mash it all up with a fork and refrigerate or add to mashed potatoes or whatever.

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