Last night, on a whim, I decided to make twice baked potatoes. One of my favourite recipes from Ree Drummond (actual recipe found here)because of the simple staple ingredients and versatility, I usually use sweet potato and tuna with cheese, but last night I decided to make a batch closer to the original, but still it had a Miz twist!
No pics, because, well, I couldn't be bothered really, but the original recipe has a ton of pics if you want step by step images.
Makes for 2 hungry men and me!
3 large white potatoes
6-8 rashers of bacon (smoked or unsmoked, your choice! I went with smoked), diced
1 small white onion diced into small cubes
200g (approx) strong cheddar cheese (I used Cathedral, naturally!)
Cream cheese (I used a quarter tub of Philly)
2 tsp of cayenne
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat your oven, (gas mark 4) and throw in the potatoes, no piercing, no foil, just as they are. The skin will crisp up a treat, which is exactly what we want! Ignore for 30 mins, then turn the taters round so the whole potato will get crisp, and ignore again! Easy!
Meanwhile, since I was being naughty, I melted a little butter in a frying pan and put half the diced rashers in, and let them get to a crispy brown before removing them and frying up the second batch. Without getting rid of the leftover grease, (because, why?) I fried the diced onion in the fat until they turned soft, picking up all that lovely smoked tastiness! Set aside with the bacon, no need to keep warm.
Grate up the cheese, and go check the potatoes. If they're done, *carefully* slice them lengthways, using a tea towel as blanket (protect your hands from the heat and the sharp knife like this!). Leave the oven on, you'll be using it again in 5 mins.
In a big bowl, throw in the bacon, onion, half the grated cheese and then scoop out the sliced potatoes, leaving alittle in the shells so the shell will hold. Mix and mash together, adding the cream cheese and some milk if you like, then the cayenne and salt and pepper, as you like it. Suitably mashed and combined, start scooping the mixture back into the shells, don't flatten it down or the shells may split, just scoop it in until just above the egdes. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, and bung back into the oven! Simple!
Give it 5-10 mins, depending on how you like your cheese, just melty and stringy, or crisp and brown.
Serve immediately. I served mine with a "what I had available" version of this(ie. without the peppers and subbing the BBQ sauce for Lea & Perrins), and listened as silence decended upon the room for, erm, at least 10 mins. Then I was told, serveral times, that I/the food/life in general was amazing.
I liked that. It was good knowing these two upstanding pillars of society were pleased.
It made my life complete, or something like that.
Go make it!
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