Dressing up the baked potato

[NVNVGirl]

Jason, your potato looks YUMMY! Great picture!

One of my favorite quick meals is baked potato and I've been known to top it with practically anything and everything.

My favorite tho is butter, Star (and ONLY Star brand) brewer's yeast flakes, salt and pepper and non fat cottage cheese. And sometimes salsa too....healthy and delicious.

[jrt]

Great recipe from Eric Ripert: bake the potato, scoop its guts out and mix with some salmon roe, smoked salmon, sour cream, stuff it back into the potato and then top with chives and caviar.

I did a few of these at Thanksgiving and they were as interesting as I had thought they would be -- very common ingredients paired with very uncommon ones always raises my eyebrows.

[YPants]

my girlfriend just told me about this "fast food" place that apparently serves a bunch of different varieties of baked potato. sadly she was just passing by and it was closed at the time so she didnt get to see any freaky variations.

i love having creme fraiche, bacon, parmesan and chives on mine. shrimp, dill, mayo is also great. but im looking for new ideas. i am gonna try asparagus and hollandaise next time. what is your favorite condiment?

[Peter the eater]

I like creamed horseradish and teriyaki on a baked potato.

[KatieLoeb]

Chili and cheddar cheese.

Ranch dressing and crumbled bacon.

Sauteed onions and mushrooms with a little cognac.

Chopped broccoli or spinach and cheese.

[emilyr]

If I'm not going to have chilli, cheddar and sour cream (my favorite meal when I was 10 and still comfort food now!), I like to go for some still crisp, blanched asparagus and cream whipped with dry mustard powder. Lots of salt and pepper.

[Benjamin439]

You need sour cream and fresh chilies

[JimH]

Chopped BBQ, cheese & onions

[sjemac]

Chopped BBQ, cheese & onions

←

Salmon caviar, pepper and creme fraiche.

[Boy R D]

sauteed mushrooms, bacon crumbles and a young melty gorgonzola

[sadistick]

Butter and Truffles

[YPants]

Chopped BBQ, cheese & onions

←

Salmon caviar, pepper and creme fraiche.

←

oh man, sweet idea...

[Jaymes]

So you've got your steaming-hot baked potato. Whether it's got a crispy skin because you rubbed it with butter and then baked it naked, or a more tender skin because you're a 'wrap it in foil' aficionado, now it's ready to eat, and you're going to gild the lily.

What do you do?

Salt and pepper, of course. Goes without saying

Bacon and chives are not in the same family, so, sure, both of them.

But which dairy? Sour cream? Butter? Cheese? All three? They're all members of the same family, so are all three really necessary?

And if you're counting calories, low-fat Ranch Dressing?

A barbecue-lover, so chopped brisket?

A chili-lover, so a ladle of Texas Red?

A veggie lover, so a spoonful of Jaymes's Calabacitas recipe with squash, tomatoes, green chiles, cheese & corn?

And, once you've made this critical decision, how exactly do you go about your topping procedure?

Do you slit and squeeze?

Do you cross and squeeze?

Do you lay the whole thing out completely bare and mash?

And finally, how does your story end?

Eat the peel?

Or no.

[ElsieD]

Slit down the middle, prop the two halves apart, add sour cream and chives or, if chives are not available, finely chopped green onions. That's it.

[maydd]

I cross and squeeze (not necessarily in that order), pummel in some extra thickened home-made chunky mushroom soup or idem tomatoey baked beans with belly pork...

[Lisa Shock]

Mine don't have a real peel, because I use a method I heard James Beard talk about on the radio which creates a crispy crust on the outside of a peeled potato. That said, I cut down the middle, fluff, and pour on beurre noisette and sprinkle a little salt.

[Jaymes]

Mine don't have a real peel, because I use a method I heard James Beard talk about on the radio which creates a crispy crust on the outside of a peeled potato. That said, I cut down the middle, fluff, and pour on beurre noisette and sprinkle a little salt.

I am curious about this. Honestly, after I've finished off most of the potato and toppings, I get out a sharp knife and cut up the peel and eat it. It's really one of my favorite parts. Not to mention that I've always been told it's got lots of good nutrients.

What is the advantage of having no peel?

[FauxPas]

I like the Hasselback style lately. Simple, with olive oil, garlic and some herbs. Or a bit of Parmesan. I love the peel, too!

But every now and again, I get a craving for a full-meal loaded potato. These pics at Closet Cooking had me salivating: Fully Loaded Hasselback potatoes.

[Shel_B]

For myself, after baking the 'taters are split, I add just a scosh of oil, butter, or now ghee, throw on a sprinkle of S&P, and that's it.

I may mash the meat or not. If mashed, the skin is eaten last. If not, then I cut off a piece of potato with skin on and enjoy it.

Now, for Toots, who likes her potatoes with an egg or two, I'll bake her some variation of an "Idaho Sunrise," and one for myself as well.

[Goatjunky]

Cut in half and cross hatched for maximum topping ratio

Butter, sour cream, chives or green onions, lots of salt n pepper of course.

But leftover broccoli and cheese is awesome

Sour cream and if i am lucky enough a little caviar

I basically want most of this list

http://www.buzzfeed.com/arielknutson/amazing-ways-to-eat-a-baked-potato-for-dinner?s=mobile

[janeer]

Cut in half and cross hatched for maximum topping ratio

Butter, sour cream, chives or green onions, lots of salt n pepper of course.

s=mobile]http://www.buzzfeed.com/arielknutson/amazing-ways-to-eat-a-baked-potato-for-dinner?s=mobile

This is what I do.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Rub with olive oil, bake in rock salt 450 deg F for an hour (pierce all over with fork after 30 minutes). When done stick with fork and smash several times against a cutting board or plate. Salt, and pour on olive oil. Serve with sour cream and fresh ground pepper. More salt as necessary. Consume whole thing. I want one now.

I don't use butter for baked potato, as often as not I'm serving hollandaise or bearnaise on something else.

[Ammy]

As far as I'm concerned, I always topped mine with fresh guacamole and dairy free "Sour cream", I heard that it's better than butter but it's up to one of us.

[Lisa Shock]

Mine don't have a real peel, because I use a method I heard James Beard talk about on the radio which creates a crispy crust on the outside of a peeled potato. That said, I cut down the middle, fluff, and pour on beurre noisette and sprinkle a little salt.

I am curious about this. Honestly, after I've finished off most of the potato and toppings, I get out a sharp knife and cut up the peel and eat it. It's really one of my favorite parts. Not to mention that I've always been told it's got lots of good nutrients.

What is the advantage of having no peel?

The peels contain the glycoalkaloid poisons solanine and chaconine. Most of the time, the levels of these is low enough to not do much harm. (That said, even low levels can affect a patient's reaction to anesthesia, so consumption of anything in the nightshade family up to a week prior to having a surgery is not advisable.) But, if a potato hasn't been handled properly (too cold, too hot, turned green in the light) levels rise and a person can be poisoned. Growers try to keep the levels low in new breeds, but, like any vegetable, individual specimens may have varying characteristics. People occasionally die from the poisoning, but, it's pretty rare. In 1979, in the UK an entire boarding school was poisoned by potatoes served for lunch, 17 boys were ill enough to be hospitalized.

I myself used to experience frequent stomach discomfort when eating potatoes. Once I stopped eating peels, I got better.

The method if pretty simple: pre-heat your oven to 500°, peel some big baking potatoes like russets, rub with oil, sprinkle with a little kosher salt, place in the oven on a tray or just on the racks, bake for 15 minutes then turn the temperature down to 250°, keep baking for another hour. They develop a crispy shell that is clean and smooth with no iffy spots.

[Shel_B]

Rub with olive oil, bake in rock salt 450 deg F for an hour (pierce all over with fork after 30 minutes).

I've seen baking in salt done with other food as well, but Ive never tried it. Trying it with a baked potato seems like a good place to start. Would you be kind enough to explain your technique? Thanks!