Twice Baked Potatoes With Leeks Cheese Food

TWICE-BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Position racks in the top and middle of the oven, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Take the butter out of the refrigerator to soften. Scrub the potatoes clean and pat them dry. Poke holes all over them with a fork. In a large bowl, toss them with the oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place the potatoes directly on the top rack, and place a baking sheet or a piece of foil on the middle rack to catch drips. Bake for about 1 hour, until the skin is crisp and potatoes offer no resistance when a knife is inserted in their centers. Remove from the oven and let sit until cool enough to handle.
• Slice the top third lengthwise off the potatoes. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, leaving 1/4-inch border of potato on the skin, and transfer the flesh to a medium bowl. Scrape the potato tops of all flesh, and add the flesh to the bowl. Place the bottoms on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Snack on the tops - chef's treat - or discard.)
• Mash the potato flesh with a fork or potato masher. Add the butter, and stir until smooth (try not to overwork). Add the milk, sour cream and cheese and stir to combine. (If you want the filling softer, add more milk.) Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir in the chives, if using.
• Mound each potato skin with a quarter of the filling. Bake the potatoes until warmed through, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

TWICE BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Rub the potatoes with the oil and season generously with kosher salt. Place on a baking sheet and bake until the potatoes are very tender on the inside and crisp on the outside, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large nonstick skillet set over medium heat. Add the leeks and season with salt and pepper, cook until soft, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Cool slightly.
• Cut lengthwise, opening down the center of each potato, stopping about 1-inch from each end. Scoop out the insides into a large bowl, keeping about 1/4-inch shell of potato next to the skin.
• Add the leek mixture, cream cheese and milk to the potato and mash well with a fork until combined but slightly chunky. Stir in the chopped parsley. Spoon the filling back into the potato shells, about 1/2 cup of filling for each potato and place back on the baking sheet. Bake until heated through and the tops are lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Garnish with extra parsley.

TWICE BAKED POTATOES WITH LEEKS & CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Scrub the potatoes clean and prick with a fork. Place into the oven directly onto the oven rack. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, until the potatoes give a bit when gently squeezed. Remove and set aside to cool while you cook the leeks. Keep the oven on. Trim the dark green parts from the leeks and discard, or save to use in making stocks. Cut the remaining stalk in half lengthwise and rinse well in cold water to remove any grit or dirt. Slice thinly. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the leeks and saute gently for about 5 minutes until softened. Set aside. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Carefully scoop out the flesh into a bowl, leaving a thin shell. (I find a teaspoon works beautifully for this.) Mash together with the softened leeks and some salt and black pepper to taste. Stir in the cheese. Mix well together. Place the potato halves on a baking sheet and then stuff lightly with the potato/leek/cheese mixture. Try not to compact it. Leave it loose, you get more crunchy bits that way. Sprinkle with a bit more cheese. A pinch works well for each. Return to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes, until heated through and golden, with some crispy bits.

ULTIMATE TWICE BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake potatoes in preheated oven for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
• When potatoes are done allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese and 1/2 the green onions. Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions and bacon.
• Bake for another 15 minutes.

CHEESY TWICE-BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Rub potatoes with olive oil and salt; pierce each several times with a fork and arrange onto a baking sheet about 6 inches apart.
• Bake in preheated oven until easily pierced with a fork, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool until cool enough to handle, keeping oven heat at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Halve potatoes lengthwise and scoop potato from each half into a bowl, leaving about 1/4 inch of the potato attached to the skin all the way around.
• Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute garlic in butter until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir scooped potato, Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, and most of the green onion together with the garlic and butter; cook and stir the mixture until heated and smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Scoop the potato mixture into the potato skins and arrange onto the baking sheet.
• Bake in oven until heated through, 15 to 20 minutes. Garnish with remaining green onion, bacon, and paprika.

TWICE-BAKED POTATOES WITH LEEKS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Pierce potatoes with fork; bake until tender, about 1 hour.
• Chop 2 leeks. Cut remaining leeks into thin strips about 2" long. In nonstick skillet, melt 1 T. butter over medium heat. Add chopped leeks; cook, stirirng, 5 minutes.
• Horizontally cut top 1/3 from each potato. Scoop potato from skins, leaving 1/4"-thick shells. Heat milk and remaining butter until hot; add to potatoes with cheese, salt and pepper. Mash; stir in cooked leeks. Pipe or spoon mixture into potato shells. On baking sheet, bake until golden, 20-25 minutes.
• In nonstick skillet, heat 1/4" oil over medium heat. Add sliced leeks; cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Top potatoes with leeks and, if desired, sour cream.

CHEESY TWICE-BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Stab the potatoes with a fork or paring knife a few times on all sides. Place on a baking sheet and bake until fork-tender, 60 to 80 minutes. Let cool slightly (but keep the oven on).
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot and cook until softened but not browned. Set aside.
• Once the fully cooked potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in half lengthwise. Using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out the flesh of the potatoes, leaving a 1/4-inch rim to preserve the shape of the shells.
• In a large bowl, mash the potato insides until mostly smooth. Add the butter mixture, sour cream, chives and 1 cup of Cheddar and mix together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Spoon the mixture evenly into the 8 shells. Top with the remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm.

TWICE-BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place the potatoes on a baking sheet. Rub them with the canola oil and bake for 1 hour, making sure they're sufficiently cooked through.
• Slice the butter into pats. Place in a large mixing bowl and add the bacon bits and sour cream. Remove the potatoes from the oven. Lower the heat to 350 degrees F.
• With a sharp knife, cut each potato in half lengthwise. Scrape out the insides into the mixing bowl, being careful not to tear the shell. Leave a small rim of potato intact for support. Lay the hollowed out potato shells on a baking sheet.
• Smash the potatoes into the butter, bacon and sour cream. Add the cheese, milk, seasoned salt, green onions and black pepper to taste and mix together well. (IMPORTANT: If you plan to freeze the twice-baked potatoes, do NOT add the green onions.)
• Fill the potato shells with the filling. I like to fill the shells so they look abundant and heaping. Top each potato with a little more grated cheese and pop 'em in the oven until the potato is warmed through, 15 to 20 minutes.

TWICE-BAKED SWEET POTATOES WITH LEEKS AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Prick the sweet potatoes with the tip of a knife; place on a baking sheet.
• Bake for 1 hour, or until completely tender.
• In a medium skillet over medium high heat, crumble the sausage.
• Cook until all trace of pink is gone. It doesn't need to be brown, just cooked through.
• Drain any excess fat and set aside.
• In the same pan, melt the butter over medium low heat.
• Add the leeks, sage, and thyme.
• Cook until the leeks are soft and starting to turn golden.
• Remove the leeks from the pan and set aside with the sausage.
• Cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise.
• Carefully scoop the flesh into a mixing bowl, leaving 1/8 inch of flesh around the edge, so the skin will not fall apart when you fill it.
• Place the empty skins on a baking sheet.
• Preheat broiler, placing the rack about 6 inches from the heat.
• Mash the sweet potato flesh until smooth; add the sour cream and kosher salt, mixing to combine.
• Add the sausage and leeks and mix well.
• Taste for seasoning, and add more salt if needed.
• Scoop the sweet potato mixture back into the skins; top with the grated cheese.
• Place in the oven and broil until the cheese starts to brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
• Cut each potato in half to make two servings. (If you used small potaotes, you won't need to do this).

LEEK AND RICOTTA TWICE BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Bake the potatoes at 400 degrees until done. You can start them in the microwave to save time but finish them in the oven. Let them cool. Slice in half. Scoop the potato from the skins leaving a thin layer of potato on the skin. Run the potato through a ricer if you have one or mash the potatoes until smooth.
• Cut off the root side and dark green part of the leeks. Slice in half lengthwise and wash thoroughly. Cut lengthwise again then slice. Saute the leeks in the butter on medium low heat. Add the garlic at the last 2 minutes. Remove brown bits if necessary.
• Combine the leeks with the potato and remaining ingredients. Fill the skins with the mixture. You may not need all of the skins. These can be refrigerated several hours in advance.
• Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Lightly broil to brown if necessary.