The Best Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes - cooking recipe

Ingredients

5 lbs russet potatoes, scrubbed and poked several times with a fork
3 cups heavy cream, hot
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons salt, add more to taste
black pepper, to taste (optional)

Preparation

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 450 degrees.
Microwave the potatoes on high for 16 minutes, turning them over once.
Transfer potatoes to oven and place directly on the oven rack. Bake about 30 minutes, turning once, or until a skewer glides easily through the flesh.
Remove from from oven and cut each potato in half lengthwise.
Using an oven mitt or folded kitchen towel to hold the hot potatoes, scrape out the flesh into a large microwave-safe bowl.
Use a fork, masher, or spatula, break the potato flesh into small pieces.
Transfer half of the potatoes to a mixer bowl and beat on high speed with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 30 seconds. (I used a hand mixer with the standard beaters and it worked fine but definitely use a stand mixer if you have it.)
Gradually add the rest of the potatoes to incorporate until no lumps remain, 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove bowl from mixer and gently fold in 2 cups of the cream followed by the butter and 2 tsp of salt. (This will look way too wet at first but keep folding and it will all come together without being soupy).
Fold in up to 1/2 cup more cream as needed to reach desired consistency.
Once desired consistency is reached, fold in an additional 1/2 cup cream. The potatoes will be quite loose at this point but this is neccesary to prevent them drying out overnight. You may skip adding the additional cream if you want to serve the potatoes immediately.
Add any additional seasonings you desire (I like adding parmesan and roasted garlic).
TO STORE: Transfer the potatoes back to the large microwave-safe bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to 2 days.
TO SERVE: Poke lots of holes in the plastic wrap and microwave at 75% power until the potatoes are hot, about 14 minutes, stirring gently halfway through.