Name: Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 4 lb. medium Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed; Kosher salt; ⅔ to 1 cup heavy cream; ⅔ to 1 cup whole milk; 1 ¼ cups (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces; ½ cup sour cream; Freshly ground black pepper; A potato ricer or food mill fitted with fine disk

A swirl of golden mashed potatoes in a serving bowl with a large pat of butter melting into a pool in the potato valleys.

Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich

You can make and chill these mashed potatoes (Yukon Golds make for a creamier, glossier mash) up to two days before the big night. Two days! Just reheat gently with a little more dairy and they'll be as velvety as if you had whipped them only moments ago. How does it work? When you combine the butter and the hot taters and then add the dairy, the butterfat coats the potato starches, preventing the dish from ever getting sticky, gluey, or gummy. True story.

Recipe notes

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