What I Just Cooked: Twice-baked Potatoes

Twice-baked potatoes. It turned out to be an all-day project. I had two massive russet potatoes that took almost two hours to bake in a 375 degree oven. When the potatoes were nice and fluffy inside, I scooped out the flesh and mashed it with half a stick of butter, half a cup of sour cream and half a cup of half-and-half. Salt and pepper, of course. I also gave it an extra whipping with my hand-held blender before piling the creamy concoction back into their skins. I wanted to pipe the filling to give it a nice look, but I had a mild fever, which gave me a headache, so in the end, I just made some swirls with a fork. When I was ready for dinner, I popped it back into a 375 degree oven and cooked it for about forty minutes. Oh! Before popping it back, I topped the potatoes with a snow of pecorino cheese, hoping for a nice gratineed effect.

I wish restaurants had twice-baked potatoes on the menu. Potatoes, in general, seem to be on the decline. Yes, you will find plenty of french fries and the occasional mashed, but remember the glory days of baked potatoes with every main dish? When the potatoes would come with a silver carousel filled with wonderful topping options like sour cream, whipped butter, green onions? And what happened to potato skins served a hundred different ways? Looking back, I guess the late 80s were the golden days of the spud. At least, when you're looking at it from a restaurant point of view. When looking at it from the supply perspective, things have never been better. Even Ralphs has at least four different kinds of potatoes, from lovely yellow ones like Yukons to dark purple delights. I even found one called White Rose which I'm dying to try.

How did it turn out? I couldn't resist garnishing the final golden spud with very finely minced green onions. You have to cut the fat somehow. Since I considered the potatoes as the main dish, I served Italian-style sausages on the side, more as something to dip into the mashed potatoes than anything else! I'll give my try at twice-baked potatoes a solid B. It's been a few years and I'm out of practice. :(