Party Potatoes

Grandpa Karsky was the grandfather of my daugter's now ex-fiance and from what I hear he was a great cook and a wonderful guy. He passed away before we met the family. It's too bad his grandson didn't follow in his footsteps in being a wonderful guy! :-) This is another Grandpa Karsky recipe and it is creamy and delicious. Not your ordinary potato recipe. The recipe says to refrigerate overnight, which of course you can do, but you can also bake it right away for around 20 - 30 minutes or until it is heated through. Because it can sit overnight it makes it a great recipe for any party because it's already made and you just pop it in the oven! Grandpa Karsky was aparently famous for shortening recipe instructions so I have embelshed this one a bit. Also, sometimes the potatoes are too dry for my tatstes so I've added some milk or some extra sour cream to make them creamier. I have also sprinkled cheese and/or bacon during the last 10 minutes of baking.

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 10-12

Ingredients

• 5  lbs  red potatoes (I peel about half and leave the peel on half and cut into quarters)
• 8  ounces cream cheese
• 1  cup sour cream
• 2  teaspoons  garlic salt
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4  tablespoons butter (divided with 2T in the potatoes and the other 2T dotting the top of the casserole before baking)
•  milk (if potatoes seem too dry for your tastes) or  sour cream (if potatoes seem too dry for your tastes)

Directions

1. Lightly grease a 9 X 13 cake pan. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender. Drain, and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Mash until smooth. Stir in cream cheese, sour cream, garlic salt, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of the butter. Beat until light and fluffy. Add additional sour cream or milk if the potatoes are too dry for your tastes. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish.
2. Refrigerate overnight.
3. Remove from the refrigerator, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Dot casserole with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.
4. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until heated through.