Cloud like Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Oven Baked Carrots

These two are make the perfect pair for Easter this year. They are simple, delicious, and traditional side dishes you can whip up fast.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes with the Skin

Smashed potatoes (i.e. mashed potatoes) are truly one of the great joys in life. Creamy, buttery and warm nothing goes better with a holiday meal.

Over the years we have tried our Smashed potatoes many ways and finally settled on what we think is the best recipe – ever.

We have discovered that a combination of Yukon and Russet potatoes is the most flavorable and we like our potatoes with the skin on. It is in the skin where most of the nutrients lie – we thoroughly scrub our potatoes – and love the texture that the skin adds. We add a whole head of roasted garlic and lots and lots of salt and pepper.

We use softened butter as opposed to melted butter as it the softened butter is better absorbed into the potatoes and makes them less greasy. We heat our milk before adding it to the potatoes.

For a change you can add cream cheese, sour cream, mascarpone or even crème fraiche.

You can make the potatoes up to two hours ahead of serving your meal and keep them in a covered pot in a low temperature oven with a kitchen towel under the lid to absorb moisture.

Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 lbs of potatoes You can use either Yukon Gold or Russett

• 1 Whole Head of Garlic

• 1 cup of heated milk (or more depending on how much liquid your potatoes absorb)

• 2 softened sticks of unsalted butter

• Salt & Pepper

• Chopped Parsley

Instructions

• Heat the oven to 400F. Take a whole head of garlic and cut the top ¼ of inch off exposing the individual cloves. Place the head of garlic in a piece of aluminum foil and sprinkle the cloves with olive oil. Close the aluminum foil and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the entire head of garlic is soft to the touch.

• Wash and cut potatoes into quarters. Place potatoes in cold water and bring the water to a boil for approx.. 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return to pot. Put the heat on very low and stir the potatoes around to get rid of any excess moisture. Smash the potatoes (we use or grandmothers old hand masher) until they are smooth. Heat the milk and keep on a very slow simmer (do not boil) Add the roasted garlic squeezing the roasted cloves into the potato mixture and continue to smash. When combined add the two sticks of butter and incorporate into the potato mixture. Slowly add the heated milk until the desired texture is achieved (we like our potatoes smooth but not loose). Add salt and pepper (you will need to add copious amounts of salt as potatoes are a magnet for salt and can absorb quite a bit). Taste as you go along.

• If you are not serving right away put into an oven proof pan with a lid covering the pot with a kitchen towel before you put the lid on.

• When you are ready to serve place in a heated bowl (let the serving bowl stand in hot tap water for a few minutes) and add a few pats of butter and chopped parsley.

Carrots

Ingredients

• Olive oil

• Salt and Pepper

• Balsamic blaze

• Parsley

Instructions

Toss these with olive oil, salt and pepper. Put them on a sheet pan side by side and cook at 400 F for 20 minutes or until browned and tender (test with a fork). Drizzle with a balsamic glaze and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Just make sure the Easter bunny doesn’t get to these before your guests