2 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 stick butter
3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste

The potatoes should be scrubbed, cut in pieces, and brought to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until tender - should take about 20 minutes. In a separate pan saute' garlic. Add potatoes, buttermilk and thoroughly mash. Don't use a blender unless you want the potatoes to be creamy.

For an authentic frontier feel, mash the potatoes using a 12 or 16 oz can. Remove both ends of the can and gripping one side, slice up and mash the potatoes with the other. Be careful of sharp ends. The potatoes will be creamy with chunks. Season with salt and pepper.

In their frontier Christmas dinner "On Silver Lake" the Ingall's of the Laura Ingall's Wilder book enjoyed a feast, but it was limited by the food stored in a surveyor's cabin. In the 1880's fresh chives was not a common ingredient in the middle of winter. However, you may wish to add this item to garnish and flavor this dish.