By Katie Workman

Do you like your mashed potatoes smooth, or with a few lumps so that everyone know they are homemade?  Whatever your desired texture, you can get them by mashing by hand with Prepara’s sturdy Flip Masher.  The head flip up so that you can store it flat - no more jammed drawers!  Plus it’s dishwasher safe.

And use the Herbs n' Greens Cool Tool to strip those fresh herbs from their stems in seconds – a great time saver.  No more pick off individual leaves one by one, just run the stem through the appropriately sized hole in the Herbs n' Greens Cool Tool. And you have your piles of herbs ready for a quick chop and to add into your mashed potatoes.  A really nice way to liven up mashed potatoes for the holidays.

• Kosher salt for cooking the potatoes, plus 1 teaspoon or more, or to taste
• 8 large Idaho or Yukon Gold potatoes (3 to 3 1/2 pounds total), peeled and halved
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
• 1 cup whole milk
• ½ cup light or heavy cream or half and half (see Note)
• ½ cup chopped fresh chives
• ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped tarragon
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add a generous amount of salt, return to a boil, then add the potatoes (the water should cover the potatoes by at least 2 inches). Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium and continue to simmer for 15 or so minutes, partially covered, until the potatoes are very tender when pierced with a knife.

2. Drain the potatoes, return them to the pot, and place them back over medium-low heat. Toss the potatoes in the hot pan occasionally for 3 minutes or so until the moisture is all gone and they have begun to dry out (but not to brown).  Remove the pan from the stove, and use your potato masher to mash the potatoes until they are smooth as you like them.  Meanwhile, heat the milk and the cream together in a microwave safe bowl or pitcher for about one minute, until hot.

3. Add the butter and the hot milk and cream mixture to the potatoes and stir with a wooden spoon or a whisk until well combined. Blend in the chives, parsley, and tarragon. Add salt and black pepper to taste, and stir over medium low heat until everything is hot and well blended.  

Note: If you don’t feel like use of the creamier items here, or you don’t have them in the house, just add another ½ cup of whole milk and call it a day.