<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"For my second America&amp;#039;s Test Kitchen: Let&amp;#039;s Get Cooking recipe, I chose something I&amp;#039;ve made before but with a little twist: Garlic Mashed Potatoes. And, let me tell you, I&amp;#039;ve been making mashed potatoes wrong all these years. Instead of boiling the potatoes in water and then mashing them with butter and cream, this recipe actually cooks the taters in garlic, butter and half-and-half.  Honestly, I was a little apprehensive about whether all that liquid would actually be absorbed by the potatoes, but it was\u2014and to surprisingly non-disastrous results. Also, since the game called for it, I decided to invest in a potato masher, which made for infinitely easier mashing than the fork, spoon or whatever else I had used in the past.  The ingredients list was pretty standard for these garlic-flavored potatoes: russet potatoes (which are used because of their &amp;quot;light, fluffy texture&amp;quot;), unsalted butter, garlic, sugar, half-and-half, salt and pepper. Though I&amp;#039;ve never made fancy mashed potatoes like these, they were so tasty, I don&amp;#039;t know if I will ever be able to go back to the basic version again.   I found the game&amp;#039;s instructions especially useful when cooking the garlic. After melting the butter and adding the garlic and sugar to the pot, it said to stir until the garlic was &amp;quot;sticky and straw colored.&amp;quot; I set the game&amp;#039;s built-in timer and stirred away, anxiously watching the clock, unsure if I would know when the concoction was sticky and straw colored. But, lo and behold, the garlic turned into a sticky, straw colored ball right before my eyes. Here&amp;#039;s what else I learned making this recipe: &amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;gt; 1. The game instructed me to &amp;quot;use the side of the chef&amp;#039;s knife to tap the clove&amp;quot; in order to loosen the skin for easy removal. Um, yeah, this tip was a life changer. Do you know how much time I&amp;#039;ve spent trying to peel that freaking outer skin from the clove? Way too much\u2014and never again!  2. A good vegetable peeler is essential when peeling 14 potatoes in one sitting. When my husband and I moved to our new apartment back in December, he came home with a bunch of new kitchen utensils\u2014including the OXO Good Grips Pro Swivel Peeler ($11.99; ChefTools.com). This was the first time I&amp;#039;ve used this peeler on a big job and what a difference it makes! In the past, I&amp;#039;ve always had those cheapie aluminum peelers and it&amp;#039;s taken forever to get everything peeled. I didn&amp;#039;t time myself, but I&amp;#039;m sure I set some kind of personal record.  3. Apparently, I&amp;#039;ve been simmering things incorrectly all these years. Throughout the game, there are points within the recipe that provide the user with more details if they want them. When I got to the step where I had to let the potatoes simmer, I decided to check out the extra details about simmering. Basically, it said the burner temperature should be set so that &amp;quot;small bubbles break the surface of the liquid in places.&amp;quot; I always thought simmering was the opposite\u2014no bubbles breaking the surface. This explains so much about previous kitchen failures. &amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;gt; Verdict: When I made mashed potatoes in the past, they never really tasted right. They either needed a lot of salt to compensate for the lack of flavor or they just weren&amp;#039;t creamy enough. Neither of these things were an issue with this recipe. Both me and the hubby enjoyed this side dish, which I have a feeling will be a welcome addition to our traditional holiday menu. \u2014Meghan Ahearn All photos by Randy Lee.  What do you add to your mashed potatoes to keep them creamy? Got any favorite add-ins for an extra dose of flavor? Share your cooking secrets in the comments below.  Looking for a new mashed potato recipe to try? Check out WD&amp;#039;s 10 Mouthwatering Mashed Potato Recipes. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/a48292/cooking-the-dsagarlic-mashed-potatoes-3049/>