A Twice-Baked Potato 💕

For You 💝 🥔

Photo: Jolene

If I could give you a Valentine’s Day gift, it would be this potato. 💝 🥔

The great food writer Laurie Colwin wrote that “nothing beats a plain old baked potato” and I couldn’t agree more.

Except maybe a twice-baked potato.

I’ve been sick for the better part of a week and a baked potato was one of the few things that appealed to me as an accompaniment to the monotony of a bottomless pot of chicken soup.

Nothing beats a plain old baked potato.

— Laurie Colwin, Home Cooking, 1988

Growing up we had lots of mashed and baked potatoes, but my brother reminded me recently that on weekends my mother sometimes made twice-baked.

She served them alongside flank steak, or as it was advertised in all the supermarkets of the day, “London Broil.” The meat had absolutely nothing to do with England and everything to do with marketing and making less expensive cuts sound more “sophisticated.”

Read more about the swanky name and cuts of beef here: London Broil

I’d never really thought about when twice-baked potatoes came on the scene, so I went googling. A link took me to an Instagram post by the acclaimed chef, Thomas Keller, and I’m so glad it did. He begins by sharing that the first record of a twice-baked potato comes from this book in 1877:

Library of Congress

I’ve ordered a facsimile copy and can’t wait to get it, because if the wisdom inside is half as colorful as the quote on the cover, the contents will be entertaining as well as delicious:

"Bad dinners go hand in hand with total depravity, while a properly fed man is already half saved."

— Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, 1877

Thomas Keller’s Twice-Baked Potatoes

Put potatoes on a bed of salt. Photo: Jolene

Watching Thomas Keller take a simple baked potato and turn it into something special got me out of my sick bed to make my own.

I’ve linked to the Instagram post if you’d like to watch it, the Chef’s method for chopping chives alone is worth it. Here is the Instagram link: Recipe/Video

To Make the Potatoes

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Wash, dry and pierce 2 potatoes with a fork.

3. Place potatoes on a mound of salt on a half-sheet pan. (Salt will absorb moisture.)

4. Bake for one hour.

5. Cut potatoes in half. Remove flesh of potato from jacket of one to approx 1/4 inch from edge. Set the jacket on a clean sheet pan. Remove all flesh from the second potato. (You can enjoy the other potato skin as a snack!)

6. Place all of the potato flesh into a ricer. (You can use a masher, but the ricer gives a smoother texture)

7. Add 2 tbsp of butter, a splash of heavy cream, a tsp of sour cream, the yolk of one egg and a tbsp of the grated cheese of your choice (optional). Salt and Pepper to taste. Mix with a fork till smooth.

8. Spoon filling into each jacket. (Chef Keller piped his)

9. Return to 425 degree F oven for 15 minutes.

10. Enjoy. So good!

A Valentine’s Day Tradition

My mother loved Valentine’s Day and made a big fuss when we were little, so I’ve always found it a sweet holiday.

And the essential treat: Cherry or Strawberry Jell-O with Whipped Cream.

I still love it.

Wishing everyone a delicious Valentine’s Day. 💌 See you soon!

Jolene