Peel your potatoes and rinse them twice.
Place them in a pot of cold water on the stove and boil them until fork tender. Strain off the water, add some salt and pepper (some say white pepper but I like black pepper better) and butter. Start mashing them with a hand masher and add milk a little at a time until you get a nice fluffy texture. For even fluffier potatoes whip them in a mixer with the wire whisk attachment.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes can be achieved by sautéing some garlic until lightly brown in the potato butter.
Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes can be achieved by adding parmesan to the potatoes but may require a little more milk to keep the texture right.