Twice-Baked Creamy Chive Potatoes

My son Sam is a big fan of my Aunt Dottie's twice baked potatoes. The last time she made then, Sam ate 3! Somehow, she gets her filling to be like velvet. When Sam requested these as a side dish recently, I went to work.

Unfortunately for me, I couldn't catch my aunt on the phone or by text. After reviewing lots of online recipes, it seems the trick is the right combination of butter, milk, cream cheese and sour cream mixed into the cooked potatoes.

And since I was experimenting, I made some of the potatoes with chives to suit my own tastes, leaving some plain for my kids.

Sam declared these "pretty good" but Aunt Dottie still wears the cooking crown in his eyes.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Twice-Baked Creamy Chive Potatoes

6 medium to large baking potatoes, like Idaho or Russet
1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Kosher or table salt
2/3 cup of milk
3/4 cup of butter at room temperature, cut into chunks
1 8 ounce block of cream cheese, cut into chunks
3/4 cup of sour cream
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: 2 tablespoons snipped chives (or other fresh herb), plus more for topping

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Scrub potatoes and dry well. Prick all over with a knife. Lightly coat with olive oil, then rub with salt. Bake for about 1 hour, or until potatoes are soft. An alternative method is to cook potatoes in microwave first, until soft. Then transfer to oven for about 20 minutes until the skin crisps up.

When cooked, remove from oven and let cool until you are able to handle the potatoes but they are still warm.

Lower oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Carefully slice each potato in half. Using a spoon, scoop out the pulp and place into a large mixing bowl. Be sure to leave a thin layer of potato inside each potato skin for 5 of the potatoes, so that they make little boats. For the 6th potato, you just want the cooked potato pulp and you can discard the skin.

Combine milk, butter, cream cheese and sour cream and garlic powder with potato pulp. Use a potatoes masher or electric mixer to combine until creamy. If potatoes are too starchy or stiff, add more sour cream or cream cheese (your choice) until you get the consistency you want.

Add salt, pepper and chives or other fresh herb and stir to combine.

Arrange potato boats on a baking sheet and scoop filling into a mound in each potato skin. Sprinkle with additional snipped chives.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven, until the top of potato filling is slightly browned. Remove from oven, arrange on a pretty platter and serve.