Salted Baked Potato

The Best Baked Potato is Salted

The very best Baked Potatoes, in my opinion, are made with Russet Potatoes.  And, since Russets are cheap, we can buy a huge bag of them because their shelf life is long and extensive too.  I know that everyone thinks they know how to make a Baked Potato these days.  Just throw it in the oven and bake it for an hour, right?  Well, sure.  That is, if you’re looking for a basic flavorless potato, be my guest.  But if you want that crispy, salty potato skin, there’s a few simple steps you need to follow in order to make your Baked Potato rock and, yep, the secret to a great Baked Potato is Margarita or Kosher Salt.  Salt is cheap to, so that makes this recipe a win-win.  The only spendy ingredient is the Olive Oil but you can use vegetable or Canola Oil and your Baked Potato will still turn out great.

Preparing a Baked Potato

First, in order to make a Baked Potato, you need to clean those Russets.  Clean all of your potatoes before you stab them with a fork.  Four to five punctures on two sides of each potato is perfect.  Then drizzle olive oil over the top of each one and rub the skin with your hands until the potato is fully coated.  The next step is just as easy.  Sprinkle Margarita or Kosher Salt over the top and turn each one over and repeat.  This is a Steakhouse trade secret, for those Salted Baked Potatoes we all love so much.  Why Margarita or Kosher salt?  Because its good!  It’s very light and fluffy, and doesn’t over whelm your pallet when you’re eating it.  Then bake at 350 degrees f. for an hour.  If you’re baking 4 or more potatoes, add 15 minutes for each additional potato.

Salted Baked Potato Ingredients:

Russet Potatoes
1/2 tsp Olive Oil, per potato
1/2 tsp Margarita or Kosher Salt, per potato
Your favorite toppings

Bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, until fork tender.  Be sure to watch the short video tutorial and I’ll show you just how easy it is to make a Salted Baked Potato.

Clam Chowder with Bacon

Clam ChowderClam Chowder Anytime!

Bacon Clam Chowder just makes sense, doesn’t it?  I know this soup is most appreciated in the colder months of the year, but I just couldn’t resist.  Personally I could have it prepared like this anytime and still love it.  Also, there’s just something about putting a hot chili or creamy soup in a large toasted bread bowl that just screams, “Let’s Eat”!  So if you’ve got this on the menu when I sit down to eat, you know what I’m ordering.

This Clam Chowder, in my opinion, is much more flavorful than standard recipes.  The three most important ingredients in this soup that really make it pop are the onions, the clam juice and of course our beloved, Bacon.  These ingredients make the Clam Chowder unmistakably delicious.  It’s true, the only other vegetable I add are chopped Russet Potatoes, but I find the extra addition of Celery and Carrots aren’t necessary, in order to bring the full color and flavor of this recipe about.  Though you are more than welcome to add them if you’d like, it really doesn’t matter.  It’s just a personal preference, that’s all.  I think you could even get away with adding corn if you wanted to.

Clam Chowder Ingredients:

4 strips of bacon sliced into 1/4 pieces
1/2 Chopped Onion
1 tsp Sugar
2 tbsp Butter (Salted or Unsalted)
2 tbsp White Wine (Cooking Wine or Red Wine is fine)
1/2 cup Flour
2 cans of minced clams with juice
1 qt Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Chopped Russet Potatoes (or your favorite)
1 tbsp Black Pepper
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Fresh Chopped Parsley

Absolutely Babysit this soup.  It’s very temperamental, in my opinion.  On Medium High heat, cook your bacon and onions.  Season with a shake of black pepper and add the sugar to help caramelizing the onions.  Then add the butter and Cooking Wine.  Once that has melted, stir in the flour and almost immediately add the clams.  The cream will follow shortly after, a half cup at a time to start, then bring to a light boil, stir and add another half cup. Once half of the quart of cream has been added, you can add the rest all at once.  Stir really well, then taste it for seasoning, then add the pepper and your taste for salt.  Now the potatoes can go in and you can reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring frequently.  It’s very important to keep from burning the bottom.  Using a thicker pan will help this tremendously.  Once the potatoes are cooked, 10 to 15 minutes, add the parsley and serve your Clam Chowder in a bowl, cup or toasted bread bowl.

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich

Can You Say Philly Cheese Steak?

A Philly Cheese Steak ain’t no joke!  There are franchise’s back east that have been battling out the sandwich wars for decades.  And, if you’re a Steak and Cheese fan, then you know which restaurant you support.  I found a link that shows the top ten locations for authentic Philadelphia Cheese Steaks, and it talks a little bit about the history of each one as well.  Apparently the original sandwich started at a hot dog stand and Wikipedia talks all about it here, History of the Cheese Steak!

Flat out, I don’t make it exactly the same way.  The original recipes use Cheese Wiz and I use Nacho Cheese, instead.  So, you’ll either love it or you won’t.  Both Cheese’s come from a can so basically, with my recipe, you’re getting the same thing, only with my sandwich, your getting a little kick too.  I find this to be much more satisfying because I like my Philly Cheese Steak a little on the spicy side.

Philly Cheese Steak Ingredients:

1 lb Sliced Beef
1 qt Water
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 can Nacho Cheese or Cheese Whiz
Sub Sandwich Rolls
1/2 Sliced onion
1 Chopped Garlic Clove
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive Oil for cooking

Combine the water and Baking soda and add the Sliced Beef.  Marinate for 20 minutes to tenderize.  Saute your Onions with olive oil and Garlic.  Strain the beef and cook thoroughly on medium high heat. Butter the Sub roll and toast on a flat skillet.  Then add the cooked Beef, Onions and Nacho Cheese to your toasted sub roll and enjoy your Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich!