Steakhouse Baked Potato

Update 9/9/2019: I started this blog in 2009 as an online journal to chronicle my journey and record my favorite recipes. Ten years later I can look back and see how much I’ve learned. As I reduced the amount of processed food in my pantry and freezer, I began preparing more and more meals from scratch. This resulted in a change in tastes, likes, and desires. So much, in fact, that I feel it’s time to launch and entirely new blog! I'm going to keep this blog up and running just in case people have linked or pinned the recipes. Here's a link to this recipe on the new site.

My husband celebrated a birthday this week.  When I asked him what he would like for his birthday dinner he said, "steak, baked potato, and homemade ice cream."  That's my man.  I said, "ok but we are going on a diet starting Monday - no, really, seriously."  You may notice that the blog posts for the next few months may be very different from the last few months. It's time to shed some lbs (pronounced "L - Bees").  No more winter sweaters to hide under - I think I've gained 10 lbs since I've moved to Colorado 6 months ago, and that's on top of the 35 pounds I've gained over the last 10 years.  Yikes!  Stupid Scale! I guess this is all part of my foodie journey.  Spring is around the corner. I'm starting to see cute warm-weather clothes taunting me in store windows.  Not only that, I have my 10th wedding anniversary coming up in June, and we will be going to Miami where we met and fell in love (awwwww).  It would be nice to kinda, sorta, look like I did back then, albeit a little older and a lot wiser.  Anyway, this baked potato recipe is something that my husband actually taught me how to make while we were dating.  This is still the best baked potato I've ever tasted.  The crispy goodness of the potato skin makes it like having two different potatoes in one: the yummy goodness of the fleshy interior mixed with butter AND crispy potato skins.

Steakhouse Baked Potato
1 per person - medium to large Idaho Russet potatoes (or your favorite baking potato)
olive oil
kosher salt (optional)
butter

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Wash/scrub potatoes and dry with paper towel.

2) Pour a tablespoon of olive oil in the palm of your hand and coat potato.  Repeat this step for every potato. Optional: using your hands add kosher salt to the "jackets."

3) Do not cover these potatoes with tin foil.  Instead place them directly on a flat sheet of tin foil in the oven for two hours, flipping the potato over after an hour.

4) After two hours remove from the oven and slice open right away to let the steam out so that it doesn't steam the skin soft again.  (After all that is why we bake it without wrapping them in tin foil).

Personally, I like to scoop out all of the potato and add butter to the two crispy potato skins and the potato itself and eat that separately - but that's just me.  I could eat this potato as a meal in and of itself, but it sure goes great with steak.