Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Chris and I just love roasted garlic mashed potatoes. They used to be my go-to side dish whenever we ate out until one day I realized how easy they are to make at home, and now we have them often. In the past, I've usually just roasted a head of garlic (see below), pinched out a bunch of the cloves, and mashed them up with my cooked potatoes, 1/2 stick of butter, 1/4 cup of milk, and salt and pepper. These days, I'm substituting Olivio (butter mixed with olive oil) for the butter, and fat-free milk for the milk, but the flavor of the roasted garlic more than makes up for any calorie-cutting. Here's my tip for roasting garlic the easy way:

Cut off the tip of the garlic head so that each clove is exposed. Place it on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle the whole head of garlic lightly with olive oil and season it with salt and pepper. Pinch the foil around the garlic like a packet - loose enough so that steam can form, but tightly enough so that the steam doesn't escape. Then bake it at 400 degrees for about a half-hour. It's done when the garlic pinches out of the skin easily and is nicely browned (see photo). You can spread it on bread, toss it with vegetables, or just put it in anything that would be improved by a little roasted garlic flavor, such as mashed potatoes!!!