Twice-Baked Potatoes

Twice-Baked Potatoes

At its simplest, a twice-baked potato is creamy, cheesy mashed potatoes cradled in crisp, salty skin. That’s the recipe you see here: comforting, satisfying and pretty much ideal. But if you dream of other flavor combinations, like bacon, scallions and sour cream; blue cheese and chives; or cauliflower and Parmesan, just follow the recipe below and stir in any additions (reserving some for garnish) after the dairy in Step 3. Shower the top with more grated cheese if you like, then bake, garnish and dig in.

Yield: 4 servings

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and softened

4 large russet potatoes

2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil

Kosher salt

½ cup whole milk

½ cup sour cream

½ cup grated Cheddar cheese (about 2 ounces)

Black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped chives (optional)

Position racks in the top and middle of the oven, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Take the butter out of the refrigerator to soften. Scrub the potatoes clean and pat them dry. Poke holes all over them with a fork. In a large bowl, toss them with the oil and ½ teaspoon salt. Place the potatoes directly on the top rack, and place a baking sheet or a piece of foil on the middle rack to catch drips. Bake for about 1 hour, until the skin is crisp and potatoes offer no resistance when a knife is inserted in their centers. Remove from the oven and let sit until cool enough to handle.

Slice the top third lengthwise off the potatoes. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, leaving ¼-inch border of potato on the skin, and transfer the flesh to a medium bowl. Scrape the potato tops of all flesh, and add the flesh to the bowl. Place the bottoms on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Snack on the tops — chef's treat — or discard.)

Mash the potato flesh with a fork or potato masher. Add the butter, and stir until smooth (try not to overwork). Add the milk, sour cream and cheese and stir to combine. (If you want the filling softer, add more milk.) Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir in the chives, if using.

Mound each potato skin with a quarter of the filling. Bake the potatoes until warmed through, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

TIP: The filled potatoes freeze very well. The trick is to not defrost them before baking, otherwise they get mushy. Bake the frozen, filled potatoes at 375 for 30-40 minutes or until you get the desired browning on the tops.

My family called these "company baked potatoes" because my mother only made them when she had a dinner party. Like another reader, she cut in half, no waste for the child of the depression era and she didn't add cheese. They were finished in the broiler. I am making these for the first time, a year and a few weeks after she died at 101. Her technique of scooping got all the way down to the skin, but that was a lifetime skill. Merry Christmas! I make two halves of the whole potato and do not throw out either side.

Found a wonderful use of the top 1/3 potato skin. Had the skins this morning filled with scrambled egg, a bit of diced ham, a bit of cheddar cheese, dollop of sour cream and chives. Brushed skins with olive oil, baked at 450 for about 5 minutes, stuffed the skins with scrambled eggs, put the diced ham and cheese on top & baked for about 5 more minutes until the cheese melted. Topped with dollop of sour cream (greek yogurt would work) and chives. Oh, please....so good!