baked potatoes

Restaurant baked potatoes are typically horrible. They're either stale, having been cooked in advance or wrapped in foil (why?) and gummy.

These are not, however, difficult to make at home. Follow these easy steps and you'll never settle for anything less than a perfect baked potato.

1. Start with Idaho Russet potatoes and figure one medium potato per person. Try to make sure that they are all about the same size. Wash them and pat dry.
2. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
3. Prick the skins of each potato with a fork several times, coat with olive oil, and generously sprinkle all sides with kosher salt. Place directly on the middle rack of the pre-heated oven and bake for 1 hour. Serve immediately.

Some suggestions for success:

• DO NOT WRAP BAKED POTATOES IN FOIL. The foil will trap steam inside and will make your potatoes gummy instead of fluffy.
• Time the rest of your meal appropriately. These are best served within minutes of being removed from the oven. The longer they sit, the more the steam inside of them turns back into water and begins to gelatinize the starches in the potato -- hello again, gummy potatoes!
• Baked potatoes can be cooked in a hotter oven (if you are roasting a chicken at 450 for instance), but will develop a heartier, thicker skin if you do.
• You can also bake sweet potatoes this way. Be sure to place sweet potatoes on a sheet pan or a piece of foil as they will ooze some sugary liquid as they cook which makes a mess of your oven (trust me). The salted skins are a nice complement to the sweet flesh inside.