In & Out Potatoes

Ingredients:

5 medium red potatoes  (for 4 servings)

1 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. salt

1 tbl. paprika

½ medium yellow onion, finely grated

1 ½ cup grated cheddar cheese

¼ cup milk

2 tbl. butter, plus 4 tsp. butter for topping

1 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

·         Wash potatoes and prick with a fork 4 or 5 times (do not peel!)

·         Pre-heat oven to 375°

·         Place potatoes directly on middle oven rack and bake for 1 hour & 15 minutes, turning half way through.  The skins should come out crispy, but the potato should be tender inside.

·         Using an oven mitt (so you don’t burn your hand!) remove potatoes one at a time, cut in half, and scoop insides into a bowl.  Leave the skins intact.  You will end up with two extra skin, as we prepare one extra potato to make the stuffing nice & full.  Discard the extra skins (or use for a Chef’s Sample!)

·         After scooping out about half of the potatoes, add to the potato stuffing the onions, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, baking powder, and 2 tablespoons of the butter.  It mixes better if you put in before all potatoes have been scooped out.  Then continue scooping out the rest of the skins.

·         Blend the potato mixture until smooth with an electric mixer.  Add the milk.   The finished stuffing should be fairly thick and stiff.

·         Put the empty potato skins on a metal baking tray, and fill each skin with the potato mixture until just over-filled a bit.

Stuffed potato skins, ready to bake.

·         Push about ½ tsp. of butter into the top of each stuffed potato, in 3 different spots so it melts well.

·         Top with cheddar cheese and push down a bit into the potato mixture to keep it in place.

·         Top each potato with a sprinkling of Parmesan (about 1 tsp.) and a light dusting of Paprika.

Sprinkling on the Paprika.

·         Bake at 350° for 10 minutes, then turn oven to Broil for 3 to 4 minutes more, until cheese is melted and potatoes are starting to brown slightly.

·         Remove from oven and serve hot.  You can garnish with sour cream and/or butter if you like.

Fresh and hot from the oven, ready to eat!

Chef’s notes: Tom learned this recipe from his  Dad.  It’s one of our favorites. We like to put Duxellesin our filling (sautéed mushrooms).  If you like mushrooms, check out our Duxelle recipe on this blog. You can make these potatoes ahead of time and refrigerate until ready for the final baking & broiling.