Perfecting Twice-Baked Potatoes

What's better than a baked potato? A twice-baked potato, for sure.

I've been in a cooking funk lately. There are probably lots of reasons why, but thankfully nothing makes me want to cook like comfort food. Tonight I am working towards a better twice-baked potato, a recipe that makes frequent appearances in the Brown household. Before, I would bake them the first time, hollow them out and then mash everything up with a fork. But the potatoes didn't always cook all the way through the first time - if they did, the skins would fall apart and there would be no good receptacle for the filling. But those under-cooked chunks wouldn't mash very well, and then the skins wouldn't hold everything because it would be lumpy. Argh, maddening right?

Tonight, I busted out the food processor. Brilliant! All the chunks got smoothed out and the filling fit much better in the skins. A vast improvement - but a word of warning: like when you mess with any starch, don't over-process it or it becomes gummy.

The measurements are approximate and really, you can put whatever you want in these. Pesto and mozzarella? Green chiles and pepper jack? Go for it. But remember - if you add too much stuff, you won't be able to fit all the filling back into the skins. I suppose you could bake it in a ramekin or casserole dish and eat it like fancy mashed potatoes though.

Twice-Baked Potatoes

2 russet potatoes
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained
bacon salt (vegan!) or bacon bits
shredded cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top
... whatever else your heart desires....

Put some holes in the potatoes with a fork and bake until mostly done. Let cool, and slice in half lengthwise. Scoop out the potato, leaving a little in the skin for structural integrity. Blend the removed potato with the sour cream, cottage cheese, spinach and bacon salt in a food processor, being careful not to over-process. Spoon the filling back into the skins, top with cheddar cheese and bake until cheese on top is melted and bubbling, and filling is heated through.