Mashed potatoes are pretty simple; you just mash some potatoes, right?

You’ll Need (serves six):
6 large russet potatoes
1 head of garlic (2 heads for extra garlicky potatoes)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup heavy cream
6 tbsp unsalted butter (softened)
1 tbsp each salt and pepper (more to taste if needed)

One taste that will set your mashed potatoes apart from the pack is roasted garlic. It’s pretty easy, especially considering that you’re probably roasting or grilling some meat if you’re eating mashed potatoes anyway, so roasting some garlic at the same time can just be an integrated part of the process.

Cut the top off of the head of garlic. Make a little tray for your garlic using tin foil, and drizzle olive oil over it. Place it in the oven, on the grill, or in a toaster oven for about 30 minutes until it’s well roasted. The temperature isn’t really all that important – 350-ish is cool.

When the garlic is done and has cooled slightly, squeeze out the individual cloves into a small bowl. With a fork, mush up the cloves into a paste and set aside.

Wash and scrub the potatoes under cold water. Next, peel the potatoes, but only in strips, leaving half of each potato unpeeled (I like to call them “camouflage potatoes”). Leaving a little skin on will really add a homemade taste to the potatoes.

Cut the taters into 1-inch chunks and put them in a pot, and fill the pot with cold water (about an inch over the potatoes). Place it on med/high heat until it boils – allow it to gently boil for another 15-20 minutes, reducing the heat as necessary, until the potatoes break apart easily with a fork.

Drain the potatoes in a colander and return them to the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients, including your garlic mush, and then mash them all together with a potato masher. Don’t mash them too much, because a little bit of chunkiness is totally fine. If it’s too dry, add some more cream. Taste your final product and add salt and pepper as needed.

Some people like to add a little sour cream, cheese, bacon or ranch dressing to their potatoes. I say go for it. Also, for a unique change of pace I recommend my mashed sweet potatoes recipe.