Instructions: Dont boil bakin taters. They have too much starch in em. Git some good ole common taters. Russets will do just fine. Peel em and cut em in 5 or 6 hunks apiece. Wash em off with cold water. Drop em in about a 3 quart pot. Cover em good with cold water. Bring em to a rollin boil.

Add some table salt (1 teaspoon), Let em boil over medium heat till when you stick a fork in em the fork comes out easy. That is what you call

"fork tender." This takes about 20 minutes. Dont let the water boil out or they will burn. When they are cooked just right, pour em in a colander and drain off the water. (You can refrigerate and save the water for soups, if you want to.) Set the colander of taters to drain in a pan. Set em in about a 300 degree oven for about 5 or 7 minutes to dry em out a little bit more. This helps make em light and fluffy. Put the taters in a big bowl now and mash em up real good! Use that motor boat thing you got for Christmas.

Add your butter and some mayonnaise. Mix it in good. Dont leave any lumps now! Add the half & half or cream and whip it in good. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper till it suits your taste. Set the bowl of taters in the oven for 5 or 10 minutes while you get the rest of the food on the table or round up the kids. Serve the taters nice and hot with more butter or brown gravy (high falutin folks call the same thing, "sauce.")

P.S. If you are blessed to have left overs you can add an egg and a Tablespoon of self-rising flour and make little tater cakes to fry. Drain em on a rack so they wont be greasy! Yummmy! Good.

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