Twice as Nice

Nothing like leftovers! The second time around is twice as nice. I made a holiday sandwich with green beans and almonds for lunch.



This recipe I'm about to share is very sentimental. My fondest memories of Christmas eve as a child include these twice baked potatoes. I remember walking into my grandmothers house which was covered in green and red with the fire roaring and candles lit and the smell of these potatoes wafting in the air. It really felt magical. Every year I looked forward to these potatoes.


I will not lie to you, they are very time consuming but the benefits out weight the costs tenfold. My grandmother whom we endearingly called Gram, use to make these over the course of days so as not to be cramming at the last minute. Of course I waited until Christmas day in the afternoon to start these because I'm not nearly as organized.

I use a ricer to make my mashed potatoes, in fact it is Gram's ricer that I use. It is old and used but it means so much to me that I don't mind if it makes the task a little bit longer. I feel as though she is in the kitchen with me when I make these, helping me through all the steps.

Unfortunately, Gram never wrote down the recipe, at least not one we can find and so I have taken liberties to make one up and still call it hers. Bold I know, but I don't think she would mind.

Gram's Twice Baked Potatoes:


Baking the potatoes for an hour at 350


Then cut the potatoes in half and hollow each out carefully with a spoon

Then I use Gram's ricer to mash and make the potatoes smooth


After ricing, add milk, butter, sour cream, salt and pepper and mix


Then fill each skin back up with the mashed potatoes


Then grate cheddar cheese


Top each potato with plenty of cheese and top with a pinch of paprika
and bake for 20-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven


And it should look like this! Gooey, melty, crisp, browned and delicious.

*I don't really measure milk, butter, sour cream, salt and pepper. The reason for this is because it really depends on how many potatoes you want to have. I cooked 11 potatoes which yielded 22 twice baked potatoes. But if you need a recipe to follow find one just for mashed potatoes and then follow my directions to make them twice baked.

note: I think a ricer or a food mill does the best at making the potatoes smooth and creamy but if this task is too daunting you can just mash the potatoes and mix with a mixer/ kitchen aid.*

This blog will be somewhat of a challenge for me because I don't always measure things. This can be disastrous when baking, I know and so I want to get things as close as possible to the "right" amounts however, I tend to be a taste and go kind of girl. But honestly if you're nervous about tasting and going with mashed potatoes any recipe will do.

Take one bite and bliss will ensue!

I am off to eat the last one.