Baked potato envy

Can I made it clear how much I love pinterest? Seriously, it sparks my creativity in ways I can't even describe.There are so many creative people out there that get to share their passions. Hell, I've even picked up crocheting! I'm making a pair of leggings right now (holy wow a huge project).

Focus Lauren! This is supposed to be a post about a Potato!

A few weeks ago I saw a pin that boasted it was "how to make a perfect baked potato...". Honestly, it's just a potato. Here is the original post The Perfect Baked Potato. Mindy has some great tips on why picking individual potatoes is better and a very detailed step by step for how to! 

For exactly the same reasons, I always loved ordering potatoes at Outback Steakhouse. They just seemed so much fluffier than anything that I could create at home and Mindy got the technique down pat. I have heard from some insiders that they coat the potatoes at Outback with bacon grease but ya know if you have it around why not?

Preheat your oven to 400 Degrees F and in the meanwhile rub the outsides of the potatoes with olive oil (or bacon grease) and coarse kosher salt. Place directly on the racks and cook for 1 hour turning half way through time. 

Perforate the top of your potato with a fork... a lot... like more than this. Almost all the way cut but not.... no reason other than aesthetics. 

WHAAH! Look at that! There was steam just POURING out of this potato! Just Squeeze the sides of the potato and kind of push in and up to make it open up.

I'm a cheater. I always fluff and season the inside of the potato with salt before I add any toppings. Otherwise I add too much salt and it doesn't seem to distribute. Have I mentioned I'm a weirdo?

I baked this potato for the express purpose of sharing it with whoever the hell reads this blog so it's dressed super simply as my lunch that day. I have been known to load these potatoes with Baked chicken, roasted broccoli, shredded cheese, chopped bacon, and sour cream. Ha. That was an amazing potato!

I always associated potatoes with Mitch Hedberg.

 "It takes forever to cook a baked potato in a conventional oven. Sometimes I just throw one in there, even if I don't want one. Cause by the time it's done, who knows?"  

After finding this recipe, I would wait all day for one of these potatoes!