You have to love the potato. You can shred them, mash them, fry them, mash them and bake them, and so much more. My family loves the mashed potato, and heck, I simply love most, if not all types of potatoes. In particular, I love the baked potato, especially with a steak dinner, or simply on its own, stuffed with broccoli and cheese, bacon, or whatever else you can load in there. Lately, I have had a craving for a twice baked potato, so with that said, you better believe that I made them. The process is so simple, yet the deliverable is so warm, and delicious.
Large Russet Potatoes
Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Butter
Course Salt
Cheddar Cheese (optional)
Bacon (optional)
Green Onions (optional)
Salt and Pepper
Heavy Cream or Milk
First preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In the meantime, scrub the outside of the potatoes and thoroughly clean. Pat dry, and lightly rub olive oil over all of the potatoes. Take a fork and poke holes in the potato which will prevent the potato from exploding from the pressure while cooking in the oven. Cook the taters right on the oven rack for about 1 hour and twenty minutes, or until they are cooked through. This depends on the size of the potato so feel free to press on the potato around the 60 minute mark to check for softness.
Once cooked, remove them from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes or so.
If you are using bacon for this recipe, cook it during the baking time, or the cooling time, it is really up to you.
With a knife, simply cut the top 1/3 of the potato completely off, reserving the meat. With a spoon, scoop out the insides of the potato, making sure to leave a bit around the edges of the potato so it does not fall apart, and place the meat into a bowl. Do this with all of your potatoes.
Now, into the bowl add the butter, cream, salt and pepper, and green onions. Mash to the texture you are wanting. Then refill each potato boat with the filling. Add cheddar cheese to the top, and crumble the bacon on top as well. Return to the oven, however at a lower temperature, around 350 degrees, and cook for nearly 10-15 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and ready to go. Trust me on this one, they are awesome!
I am certain you could do whatever you want within these potatoes; adding different types of cheeses, vegetables, or meats. What do you put on your potato?
