Mashed Potato Casserole

Easy to prepare, easy to store and a snap to shove in the oven the day of the event.  I got this from Cook's magazine and made just one small improvement to it by adding Vegetable stock instead of Chicken stock for the vegetarian in my family.

Ingredients

4 Pounds Russet Potatoes, peeled and cut into one inch cubes
1/2 cup Half and half
1/2 cup vegetable stock
12 tablespoons of unsalted butter cut up into pieces
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Process

Oven rack to upper middle position.  Oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare 13 by 9 baking dish with a little bit of cooking spray.  Okay, sometimes I sprinkle the sprayed on butter with Parmesan cheese.

Put peeled potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover them and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let sit for about 20 minutes.

Heat half and half, stock, butter, salt, mustard and garlic in a separate pan over medium-low heat until smooth-about five minutes, then just keep warm.

Drain potatoes and with a hand mixer, start the whipping process.  Add milk mixture and beat until most of the lumps are out.  Scrape down the sides and add the eggs one at a time and beat until just incorporated.  Do all four eggs.  Fold in Chives.

Pour mixture into prepared baking dish.  Whip up the tops with a fork if you want it to look pretty.

Bake for 35 minutes.  Let it cool for 10 minutes and then serve.

The mixture above will be runny.  Don't worry about that.  It will be perfect.  Relax and enjoy!

Note:
The beauty of this recipe is that it can be assembled ahead of time (up to 24 hours).  If you do that, follow the instructions, let it cool down in the pan and then cover tightly with plastic wrap and then refrigerate.  When you are ready to cook it, let it come to room temperature (about an hour on the counter) and then bake uncovered for the regular cooking time plus ten minutes.