Fully loaded potato skins

I started my Christmas shopping today and it was not fun.  Town was absolutely busy.  It could had been easy if I knew what to get for my friends, but the thing is I am terrible at buying presents.  I bought few things but I need to go back to the shops tomorrow to get more stuff.  *sigh...

Anyway, let's talk about food... there is nothing like a plate full of crispy potato skins, filled with spring onions, sour cream, Worcestershire sauce and melting cheese.  Obviously they are delicious just like that, but to make these treats fully loaded, they are topped with crispy bacon. Yum!  I could eat these with wild abandon and preferably with some cider alongside to drink and be none the worse. *sigh...

I submitted my essay on Thursday and it felt great! The next one is not due until mid-January. I'll worry about that after the New Year.  In the meantime, I want to enjoy the whole festivities. I'll be having friends over for meals on Christmas Eve and Day and it'll be fun.  I planned the menu I wanna cook and made my shopping list.  Food shopping, that's shopping I can cope and actually enjoy.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Fully Loaded Potato Skins
Recipe by Nigella Lawson
Makes 20 stuffed potato skins

10 baking potatoes
225g strong cheddar or red leicester
250ml sour cream
4 spring onions
1 teaspoon Maldon salt or  
½ teaspoon table salt or to taste 
good grinding of black pepper 
1 x 15ml tablespoon worcestershire sauce
10 rashers American-style or thin-cut streaky bacon
oil for frying

 

The day (or up to 2 days) before you load them, preheat your oven to 200C/400F and bake the potatoes (pricking them first) for about 1½ hours, or until the skins are crisp and the insides fluffy. As soon as you can bear to tackle the hot potatoes, cut them in half lengthways and scoop the insides into a bowl.

 

Put the husk-like skins of the potatoes on a tray and, when cool, cover until you are ready to fill them. Let the potato cool in the bowl, and then cover until needed.

 

When you are ready to fill the potatoes, preheat your oven to 200C/400F. Grate the cheese, and add 200g of it to the cold potato along with the sour cream. Chop the spring onions and add to the potato, with the salt, pepper and worcestershire sauce.

 

Spoon the potato filling into the potato skins, and lay each half on a baking tray so they fit snugly together. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese, giving each potato skin a light covering, and cook for 20-30 minutes until golden.

 

Fry (or grill) the bacon rashers in oil until crispy, then crumble them and sprinkle half a rasher’s worth over each potato skin to make them fully loaded.