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Baked Potatoes
Choose fine, smooth potatoes of equal size, and bake; as soon as tender remove from oven, cut in halves or cut off the top lengthwise; scoop out the inside of the potato, mash it fine; season with tablespoonful of butter, 4 tablespoonfuls of cream, salt and pepper to taste; beat until very light, then replace in the jackets. If cut in halves, fill the 2 halves level full and press them together. If the opening has been made on the side, fill the cavity rounding full, brush over with yolk of an egg, and place in the oven until a nice brown.
This is stuffed baked potatoes under an older name, and the seasoning quantities are given for one potato rather than for a batch. Scale the butter and cream accordingly.
- Oven and timingThe recipe gives no temperature or time. Modern practice for a medium russet is 400-425F for 50-60 minutes, directly on the rack so the skin dries; a slow oven tends to leave a damp jacket that is harder to scoop and refill.
- Quantity is per potatoQuantity -- the text says "potatoes" but then gives a single tablespoon of butter and four of cream, so the amounts are probably meant per potato, though the recipe does not say so. If you read it that way, scale up as needed, adding warm cream gradually until the mash is soft but still able to mound.
- Choice of potatoThe recipe asks only for smooth potatoes of equal size, but a dry, mealy baking potato such as a russet suits the method best. Waxy red or new potatoes tend to go gluey when beaten and will not lighten.
- Work while hotScoop and mash the moment the potatoes are cool enough to handle. Cooled potato beaten with cream goes sticky, and warm cream blends far better than cold.
- Leaving a shellLeave about a quarter inch of flesh on the skin. Scooped too thin, the jackets collapse when refilled and browned.
- The egg washOne yolk brushed thin over the top is enough for several potatoes; loosen it with a teaspoon of water or cream so it spreads. Return to a 425F oven for 10-15 minutes, or run them under a broiler for 3-4 minutes.
- YieldOne potato per person as a side dish, two halves each if you use the halved-and-pressed method.