This recipe resulted from me being hungry, having little more than a baking potato in the cupboard and being bored with the usual baked potato. I was looking in the fridge for something to add to my baked potato that would elevate it a little beyond the usual butter, salt and pepper and I found a little chunk of Gruyere cheese (left over from onion soup, I think), a half a shallot and a little heavy cream - so I decided to make a little baked potato au gratin - all the flavor and goodness of an au gratin, but without having to slice all those potatoes and the long cooking time. The result was the best baked potato that I have ever had. 1 russet baking potato 1 Tbsp. heavy cream 1/2 medium shallot, sliced paper thin 2 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated salt and pepper chives Preheat your oven (or toaster oven) to 450 degrees F. Pierce the skin of the baked potato several times with a fork to let steam escape. Cook the potato in the microwave, on high power, for 3 minutes. At this point, the potato should be about 70% cooked. Transfer the potato from the microwave to the oven and cook for another 30 minutes - this will crisp the skin and finish cooking the potato. Remove the potato from the oven, slit it in half, lengthwise and use a fork to mash up the potato meat to separate it from the skin a bit. Drizzle the heavy cream over the two potato halves, sprinkle the shallot slices over the potato and place half of the grated cheese over each potato half. Place the potato halves on a baking sheet or piece of aluminum foil and crank the oven up to broil. Broil the potato until the cheese on top is bubbly and lightly browned, about 5-6 minutes. Remove the potato from the oven, season with salt and pepper and garnish with chives.
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