Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

We went to Bonefish Grill the other night and I had garlic mashed potatoes with my Sea Bass.  I hadn't made them in forever and they just tasted so good.  Generally when I've made them before, I've used roasted garlic.  It's too hot to roast garlic, so I went in search of an alternative recipe.

Thank you Alton Brown of the Food Network!   Absolutely decadent, fluffly, and delicious.  His recipe is in no way, shape, or form a low-fat recipe.  I did read alot of the reviews others had made on this recipe and some did use skim milk or chicken broth with good results.  I will definitely lighten these up next time, but I almost always like to make a recipe as listed the first time to taste what the author was trying to achieve.   I generally step down a bit each time I try it (half-and-half to whole milk, then 2%, then skim).  Also, you must be a garlic-lover to truly love these potatoes.  Roasted garlic is a much lighter, subtler flavor.  However, even the gently-simmered raw garlic in the half-and-half is cooked just enough to take the bite out of the raw garlic. 

I'll list the complete recipe as Alton lists it, and in parenthesis let you know how much of each I used to make a smaller, but substantial amount of mashed potatoes (I'd guess at least six side dishes, plenty of leftovers which would make some awesome potato pancakes!)  And FYI, I was initially reluctant to use the complete amount of H&H because when you add this much liquid, it looks like potato soup.  But after mashing it all together, adding the Parmesan, then letting stand for 5 or so minutes, they come out perfectly.

CREAMY GARLIC MASHED POTATOES (10-12 servings)

3 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (2 #)
2 Tbsp kosher salt (1 Tbsp)
16 oz half-and-and (8 oz/1 cup)
6 cloves of garlic, crushed (3 large for me)
6 oz grated Parmesan (I used 2 oz)

Peetl and dice potatoes, making sure all are relatively the same size.  Place in a large saucepan, add the salt, and cover with water.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil.  Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork.

Heat the half-and-half and the garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering.  Remove from heat and set aside (do this step while the potatoes are cooking to further mellow-out the garlic).

Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water.  Mash and add the garlic-cream mixture and Parmesan; stir to combine.  Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens and then serve.