Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I decided to make Annalisa's grilled pork chops with balsamic caramelized pears, garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. Rich and I love garlic when we cook and this is how I like to do my potatoes (I mostly use regular potatoes, but I'm sure you could substitute red for this recipe just fine).

Roasted Garlic

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact.

3. Cut 1/4-1/2 inch off the top of the cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic. (Sometimes it is hard to cut the top off the lower side cloves, it's ok if you can't cut them all off, it just makes it easier to get them out.)

4. Place garlic bulbs in a muffin pan and drizzle a couple of teaspoons of olive/vegetable oil over each head, making sure they are well coated.

5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until cloves are soft.

6. Allow garlic to cool enough to be able to touch it then use a knife, fork or your fingers to squeeze the cloves out of their skin.

You can eat the garlic plain like this, mash it and spread it on bread, mix with sour creme for baked potatoes, put in pasta, or our favorite, potatoes!

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

8-10 potatoes, peeled, coarsely chopped and cooked through

1 C milk, warmed

1 onion, chopped (I omitted these with Annalisa's meal because of the onions already with the pears)

2-3 heads of garlic, roasted and mashed (mash first or you will end up with chunks of garlic in your potatoes--also this sounds like a lot but the garlic is sweet and very mild flavored when roasted)

1/2 C +2 Tbs. butter or margarine

salt and pepper to taste

(optional) chives or fresh chopped green onion

Boil potatoes until soft, drain. Slow-saute the onions and garlic in 2 Tbs. butter until carmelized. Whip hot potatoes, onions, garlic, (chives) and 1/2 C butter with warm milk. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tired Richie helping me stir the onions and pears.