A new baked potato

I’m trying to be creative with my 5-lb bag of potatoes rather than making mashed or baked potatoes once and forgetting about the rest of them until a month later I discover them sprouting. I had seen this on Pinterest a few weeks ago, and decided to try it. I loved baked potatoes, and potatoes and cheddar cheese are an excellent combination, so I thought it would be perfect.

Basically, here’s what I did: slice the potatoes about ¾ of the way through, season with salt and pepper, smear with butter, bake until nearly done, top with cheddar cheese, and bake until cheese is golden. They were good, but I think to make them great, I will do a few things differently next time. First of all, I will melt the butter and pour half of it over the potatoes before baking and the other half halfway through baking. Second, I will bake them at a higher temperature. I baked mine at 375, which didn’t allow them to get as crisp as I would have liked, and they actually dried out a bit because it took longer than it should have.  Third, I will fan the potatoes before baking. I thought they would fan themselves more in the oven, but they didn’t as much as I would like.

A good way to cut the potatoes without going all the way through (I learned this after I finished) is to rest the potato on a wooden spoon. This holds it in place and doesn’t allow you to cut past the spoon. See this blog for a picture: An Oregon Cottage.

Baked Fanned Potatoes

4 baking potatoes
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
Salt and pepper
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
Minced fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice potatoes thinly but not all the way through, using a wooden spoon to hold potato in place (see note above). Place in baking dish with sides. Fan potatoes slightly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour half of the melted butter over potatoes. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove from oven and pour remaining butter over potatoes. Bake for another 20 minutes, until nearly done. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until cheese is golden, about 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot.