This is where the baked potato meets the potato skin.
What you need:
- Nice russet potato
- Oil to rub potato
- Butter
- Dry chives
- Bacon bits (phony preferred)
- Cheese of choice
Wash the potato. Cut it in half the long way. Coat both halves in oil, put them flat-side down on parchment paper, salt the backs, and bake at 450 F (230-235 C). Basically, do what Sonja says.
Test to see if the potato is done by poking it with a fork.
Score both halves a few times.
Open up the slits a bit by squeezing from both ends. Add butter and chives (and bacon bits if you have them). Add cheese; I used cheddar jack but would have preferred sharp cheddar. Add more chives (and bacon bits, which I sadly didn’t have).
Put the dressed potato halves back into the oven until they look like the ones below (but with a nicer cheese). I suppose you could broil for a more dramatic effect.
