Wash the potatoes.
Peel and chop them.
Put them in a pan and shake salt over them.
Add a dollop of butter and cover them with water.
Bring to a boil and cook until very tender. The butter in the water helps keep them from boiling over on the stove.
When they’re done (fall apart when poked with a fork), drain them.
If you have a hand-held mixer, you can mix right in your pan. Otherwise, transfer to the bowl of stand mixer.
Add more butter to the potatoes and some salt.
Begin to mix them, adding dribbles of milk as you go. It doesn’t take much milk, so go easy. Taste to be sure you have the right amount of salt.
If you like your potatoes lump-free, cook them a long time to be sure they’re tender. Then mash them a bit before mixing. I’m not concerned about lumps in my potatoes. I think they’re good that way.