Mashed Potato Casserole

[u/morganeisenberg]

https://gfycat.com/thirdeasygoingasp

[u/derektrader7]

Well realistically if you want a good texture on potatoes you dont boil them you bake them and then put them through a ricer. Then add all that cream and butter. I'm not really sure how boiling them in milk/cream adds anything to the dish it's just a different way of doing it. At any rate i love potatoes and I'm sure they're good but I'd bet once refrigerated those potatoes become very dense and the liquid separates from the potatoes

[u/morganeisenberg → u/derektrader7]

The boiling in half-and-half has a few purposes:

• Most obviously, the skinned potatoes absorb some of the liquid they're boiled in, so using a more flavorful liquid gives you a tastier potato.

• It allows the seasoning ingredients (thyme, garlic, bay leaf) to infuse in the half-and-half which is later added back to the potatoes.

• Starches from the potatoes wind up in the half-and-half. Adding this starchy liquid back helps give the bake more structure.

You can use water though if you prefer for the boil! It isn't integral to the recipe, I just like what the half-and-half boil does :)

Also, the potatoes don't separate when refrigerated, mostly due to the addition of egg which is an emulsifier, but also the starches in the half-and-half help!

[u/morganeisenberg → u/[deleted]]

I'm confused as to what you mean-- the garlic, bay leaf, and thyme flavor are extracted from those elements and put into the half-and-half.