A simple trick yields crisp outsides and fluffy insides, ready to be topped in three smart, exciting ways from Eric Kim.
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Turns out, the baked potato has always been big and great.
In 1909, Hazen Titus, the dining car superintendent on the Northern Pacific Railway, had a vision: Having learned of a surplus of oversize spuds, he’d ordered them up and placed them on his menu. His “Great Big Baked Potato” became a hit, to be ordered, appropriately, on a train route of the same name.
Recipes:
Aglio e Olio Baked Potatoes | Caramelized Kimchi Baked Potatoes | Hot Honey Baked Sweet Potatoes
These days, a long Idaho tuber, split down the middle like a hot dog bun to reveal fluffy white starch, a pat of butter nestled into the left side, is still big and — more important — great, with its perfect creamy-crunchy-fresh combo of sour cream, chives, cheese and bacon.
I spent the past year baking pounds and pounds of potatoes to come to a simple conclusion: The baked potato is worth celebration. There may be no better (and easier) way to gather than by building on a reliable but never boring base and delighting in each turn of the flavor wheel.
Here are my tips for success:
1. Set up a bar (and really load up on toppings)
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