Thanksgiving Recipe 2: Twice baked potatoes

Here is the next in my series of dishes for a classic American family holiday. This is a real classic, and most people love it. Here is my take.

Twice baked potatoes.

Ingredients:

new potatoes, maybe 1 kg or 2.2 pounds worth
6 cloves garlic
200 g cream cheese
142 ml sour cream
4 spring onions
Cheddar cheese, or red leicester or double gloucester.

Begin by washing the new potatoes. I use the Charlotte variety myself. Get them good and clean and cut in half if they are pretty big. Put them into a pot with cold water. Peal the garlic and add each clove to the pot. Now bring the water to the boil. Add plenty of salt when the water starts boiling. Let the potatoes boil until they are soft and you can press the edge of a spoon through them without difficulty.

Drain the water from the pot. Now use a potato masher and start breaking up the potatoes. When they have crumbled a bit add the cream cheese and sour cream. Also slice the spring onions (or you could use chives instead) and add to the potatoes. Keep mashing until you have a nice mashed potatoes consistency.

Now put the whole mixture into a casserole dish and make it level with a spoon or spatula Put in the oven for about 40 minutes and maybe 350 or 370 degrees. Since everything is cooked already, precision is not essential. If the potatoes begin to brown on top before the 40 minutes is up, cover the casserole with foil.

Once the first baking is finished, take the potatoes out of the oven. Grate the cheese over the top until they are completely covered. Put the potatoes back into the oven and bake them a second time. Let the cheese melt entirely then just almost become crisp. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes.

Take the potatoes out of the oven and let the casserole sit on the serving table until your guests are ready. This one will keep heat for a long time, but if it gets too cool while something else is cooking, just pop it back in the oven.

This is another of my favorites, and I hope you'll all give it a try someday.

Once more into the breach,

Ben