My Mother's Cooking - Baked, Roasted and Stuffed Potatoes
Baked, Roasted and Stuffed Potatoes
My Mother's Cooking
More About Twice-baked Potatoes
- Ultimate Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe - Allrecipes.com
Potatoes are baked and then hollowed out. The flesh is combined with sour cream, milk, butter, green onions and Cheddar cheese, then topped with more cheese, green onions and bacon. - Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe : Food Network Kitchens : Recipes : Food Network
Get this all-star, easy-to-follow Food Network Twice Baked Potatoes recipe from Food Network Kitchens.
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Baked Potatoes
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Whenever my mother made a roast, she would add six or eight well washed potatoes to bake along with the meat. She would pierce each potato with a fork as it cooked to keep it from splitting. She never wrapped them in aluminum foil because that steamed the potatoes instead of baking them and we all loved the flavor of the crispy potato skins.
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I actually liked the skins better than the rest of the potato. I would scoop out the inside and replace it with a pat or two of butter and eat the skin first. I understand why a number of restaurants sell potato skins as appetizers. My mother always baked extra potatoes so that she could fry them the next day for lunch or supper.
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I will not bother to explain how to bake a potato except that starchy potatoes like russets (Idaho potatoes) work the best. Make certain that the potatoes don’t contain a lot of hidden black areas. I have found them even in expensive, so-called perfect, Idaho potatoes.
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I once asked my father why there were so many black spots in potatoes today. I didn’t remember seeing them very often when I was young. I figured that he would know because he grew up on a potato farm. He said that he thought it might be because of all of the artificial fertilizers that they use today. When he was young, they only used cow and horse manure.
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Roasted Potatoes:
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I differentiate roasted potatoes from baked potatoes if you peel the potatoes first and/or you sprinkle them with oil, olive oil or melted butter along with garlic and other seasonings. I personally believe that this works best with new potatoes including baby red skin and fingerling potatoes so that you can leave the skins on.
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You can include other root vegetables too like carrots, onions, turnips, parsley root etc. Simply wash them, cut them into equal sized pieces, sprinkle them with oil and salt and pepper, and then add garlic and whatever herbs that you prefer. Roast at about 350 F until they are fork tender.
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Stuffed or Twice Baked Potatoes:
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Many trendy restaurants today serve stuffed or twice baked potatoes, as they are often called, as appetizers. Usually they are stuffed with some combination of cheese, bacon chives or sour cream and baked a second time.
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Since they are simple enough to make at home, I am providing my recipe for making them along with several interesting variations that you might want to try. Although large potatoes are normally used, consider using small potatoes and several different fillings. These would make unique appetizers for a party or wine tasting.
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Difficulty:
Moderate
Preparation Time:
60 Minutes
Cooking Time:
60 Minutes at 350F / 15 Minutes at 400 F
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Ingredients:
4 Medium Sized Russet Potatoes
2 Tablespoons of Cooking Oil
1 Teaspoons Salt
½ Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
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Bacon, Chives and Cheddar Filling:
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4 Strips of Bacon cut into ¼ inch strips
8 Oz. of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
4 Tablespoons of Butter
½ Cup of Chopped Chives
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Cooking Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Wash and dry the potatoes and rub them with oil.
- Place the potatoes in a baking pan, poke a few holes in each one with a fork and bake them for 60 minutes.
- After they cool, slice them in half and scoop out the centers with a spoon leaving a shell about a half-inch thick.
- Fry the bacon until it is crisp and remove it and drain it on paper towels.
- Mash the scooped out potatoes with a fork and mix it with the melted butter, bacon, chives and cheddar cheese.
- Stuff each potato shell with the cheese filling and bake for 15 minutes in a 400 F oven.
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Ham and Spinach Filling:
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1 Package of Frozen Spinach
8 Oz. of Smoked Ham diced
1 Small Onion finely chopped
1 1/2 Cups of Milk
½ stick of Butter
4 Tablespoons of Flour
Salt and Pepper to Taste
¼ Teaspoon Nutmeg
1 Cup of Parmesan Cheese
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Cooking Instructions:
- Follow steps 1-3 above and reserve the scooped out potato for another use..
- Meanwhile, thaw the spinach, squeeze out the water and cut it into shreds.
- Sauté the spinach with the chopped onion in the butter and add the cubed ham.
- Sprinkle the mixture with the flour and gradually stir in the milk until it thickens.
- Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and stuff the baked potato shells.
- Sprinkle them evenly with Parmesan cheese and bake for 15 minutes at 400 F until the tops are browned.
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Sauerkraut and Polish Sausage Filling:
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Drain and rinse a jar of sauerkraut. Sauté it with a finely sliced onion and use it to stuff the potato shells. Cut a polish sausage into lengths that are slightly shorter than the potato halves, butterfly them and place them flat side up on the sauerkraut and bake them for 15 minutes at 400 F.
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Sausage Pizza Filling:
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Coarsely chop a large green pepper and an onion and sauté them in olive oil. Distribute the mixture evenly in the potato shells and cover with shredded mozzarella cheese. Cut two Italian sausages into ¼ inch thick slices and spread them evenly over the surface. Bake the potatoes for 15 minutes at 400 F until the sausage is brown and the cheese is melted.
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By now you should get the idea and you can invent any filling that you like. If you start with small potatoes you can serve several different combinations as appetizers.
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For additional ways to prepare potatoes, see the other sections of Chapter 6, which are listed below:
Chapter 6 – Potato Dishes
1. Baked, Roasted and Stuffed Potatoes
2. Boiled Potatoes and Potato Salad
4. French Fries and Croquettes
8. Norwegian Staples - Krube and Lefse
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How to Make Stuffed Potatoes
How to Make Potato Skins
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