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American | Potato Skins American

Posted on March 5, 2012

The first time that I had potato skins was the summer of 1982. I took a trip down to San Luis Obispo and ate at Spike's. I went home and figured out how to make them for myself. The trick is to get the potatoes crispy by baking the scooped out shells before filling them. These were potato skin perfection! Back to the subject of Spike's. I ended up going to college at Cal Poly SLO and went to Spike's many times. Back then they had a few more skins on the menu than they do today, but some of the old favorites are still there, including Skins American. Besides skins, Spike's has a thing where you drink 40 beers from around the world, for accomplishing this feat you get a plaque on the wall. I got one, of course.

Yield: as many as you want

potato skins

Ingredients

russet baking potatoes, cleaned

olive oil

applewood bacon

grapeseed oil

kosher sea salt, to taste

freshly ground pepper, to taste

cheddar cheese, grated (I like extra sharp)

sour cream

green onions, thinly sliced

 

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Rub potatoes with olive oil then bake for about an hour. Potatoes are done when skewer or fork pierces easily.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crisp in skillet or microwave bacon tray. Let cool, then crumble.

When potatoes are done, remove from oven, cut in half horizontally. Scoop out flesh, leaving about 1/4 inch of potato on the skin.

Increase oven to 450 degrees F. Brush grapeseed oil on the potato skins, inside and out. Season with salt. Place on a broiler pan, and cook for 10 minutes on one side, flip, then 10 minutes on the other side. Remove from oven.

Season inside of skins with a little pepper, then fill with cheddar and bacon crumbles, return to the oven and broil for a few minutes, until cheese has melted. Remove from oven and add sour cream and green onions.

Spike's menu

Menu from Spike's, Summer 1982. A little hard to read, the Skins American are in the first column, second item. I kept it all these years to remind me what to put on the skins. I plan on making the Skins Italia next.

 

(Recipe by Brenda.)