Heavenly mashed potatoes
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a 9 × 13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.
- Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, add 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt per cup of water, reduce the heat, partially cover the pot, and simmer just until tender enough to pierce with a fork, about 20 minutes. Do not overcook the potatoes or they will start to fall apart and get waterlogged. Drain well in a colander and return to the still-warm pot so that the potatoes can steam dry for about 3 minutes. They will look chalky around the edges.
- Force the hot potatoes through a ricer or a food mill fitted with the medium disc into a large bowl. If you don’t have a food mill or ricer, mash them as smooth as you can with a hand-held potato masher.
- Stir the warm milk into the potatoes with a wooden spoon. Stir in 4 tablespoons of the butter and the cream cheese and sour cream and mix well. Season generously with salt. Spoon the potatoes into the prepared dish. Dot the top of the potatoes with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.
- Bake the potatoes until they are heated through and the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
- Make-ahead note: You can make the potatoes through Step 4 up to 2 days ahead. Add enough milk to make them a little looser than usual because they will firm up overnight. Let cool to room temperature, cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. When ready to bake, remove the plastic, cover the dish with aluminum foil, and place in a preheated 350 F oven. Bake the potatoes for 30 minutes, remove the foil, and continue baking until the potatoes are hot and the top is light golden brown, about 30 minutes more. When time is tight, you can reheat the potatoes in the microwave, but this is not optimal.