Twice Baked Potato Skins

We'd been talking about potato skins.  I started craving them.  But, between you and I, I've always been a bit perplexed about the discarded carved out potato.  It just seemed wasteful.  So then I started thinking about twice-baked potatoes.  And then "ding" it came to me...TWICE-BAKED POTATO SKINS!!!  Holla!  I'm sure I'm not the only to think of this, but thought you might enjoy my recipe regardless.  

Twice-Baked Potato Skins

• Potatoes - Use whatever you have.  I had a bag of Yukon Golds
• Oil - Enough to rub the outside of the potatoes
• 1/4 cup (give or take) sour cream
• 1/8 - 1/4 cup of milk
• Butter - the more the better.  Seriously.
• Grated Cheese - enough to sprinkle on the assembled potato skins.  I used a mix of cheddar & jack.
• Parmesan Cheese - as much or as little as you want.  I used the grated stuff.
• Salt & Pepper - to your taste.
• Garlic - 1 clove crushed and grated.
• Green Onions or chives.  Whatever you have on hand.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rub outside of the potatoes with oil and bake until the skins are crispy and they are tender.
3. Let potatoes cool and cut in half.  Scoop out the insides and save.  Leave enough of a "potato border" so the skin is sturdy.
4. In a bowl, mix together the potato insides, sour cream, milk, butter, p-cheese, salt, pepper and garlic.
5. Scoop the mashed mix into the potato skins, top with grated cheese and bake until bubbly golden, melty and delicious.
6. Sprinkle with green onions or chives.  Oh, I also added a little dollop of sour cream when served.

Variations, Add-Ins, Spin-offs...

• Bacon of course.  Duh.
• Sauteed mushrooms & Swiss cheese.
• Sauteed green chiles and queso fresco or cotija for that extra kick.
• Caramelized onions.
• Anything really.

Tortilla Soup

Food is nostalgic.  Isn't it amazing how a smell...a taste...a combo of the two can take you right back to place you visited years ago?

It was our first major trip.  Jilliann (my very best BFF of 26 years) and I pinched pennies for months to make our first trip out of the US to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  Back then it was just a trip to escape to somewhere tropical and to be able to drink without being 21.  In retrospect, it was such a coming-of-age moment for us both.  We danced the nights away with boys, spent lazy mornings poolside, and afternoons immersing ourselves in the town and all its nooks and crannies.  In the in-between moments, we dreamed big and made lifelong promises of friendship.  We consumed just 3 main meals while in Cabo:  chips, pico & guacamole every morning while poolside, tortilla soup in the afternoon, and quesadillas from the street vendors when we closed the bars down.

It was over quite a few bowls of tortilla soup that Jilliann and I sweetly moved from young girls to young women.  Yes, food is nostalgic.

It's been 17 years since I had my first bowl of tortilla soup that literally rocked my world.  I had never tasted such a rich, flavorful broth.  My naive palate unable to discern the complexity of favors.  My untamed heart fearful I'd never find a replica.  17 long years of trying every "tortilla soup" on the menu and 17 long years of disappointment.

Then a few days ago, I was going through a bevy of old Food Network mags and ripping out recipes to add to my binder.  And there it was...a recipe for tortilla soup with a picture that was a dead ringer for my beloved soup.  Could it be the same?  Would I be disappointed, yet again?  The next day I set out to gather the few ingredients needed.  I made myself wait in eager anticipation as I planned the best night to make my beloved.

Then...

I made the soup.

And then...

The Heavens parted and Angels sang.

My beloved soup had returned to me.

I immediately texted Jilliann and she made me swear I was not lying.  I promised her I would make it for when she visits.

My first bite instantly transported me back to my 19 year old self when I first took a sip of the soup in Cabo.  Food is nostalgic.  And in that nostalgia we find comfort.  I  wouldn't want it any other way.

Although this soup requires you to reconstitute dried chilies, I made this soup and quesadillas within 45-50 minutes on a work night.   Perfecto!

Tortilla Soup - Adapted slightly from the October 2009 issue of Food Network Magazine.

Ingredients:

• 2 Ancho chiles - soaked and de-seeded - I did not have time to soak, so I just boiled some water, dropped the chiles in let them get soft.
• 2 Tomatoes - I used 3 Romas
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Chicken/Beef stock - 6 cups - Recipe only calls for chicken, but I didnt' have enough chicken so I used both chicken and beef.
• Corn Tortillas
• Cilantro 
• Cotija Cheese - I forgot this, and the soup was still divine.

1. Puree the chiles (after removing stems & seeds), onion, garlic and tomatoes.  You will probably need to do this in batches.
2. Fry the puree in oil.  Yes, I know it sounds weird, but it's like making Spanish Rice, you cook the sauce.  It just tastes better.  So, you heat up about a tablespoon of oil in a pan and then pour the puree in and cook it for a few minutes.
3. Add in the broth to the mixture.  The recipe called for 6 cups of chicken stock.  I only had 4 cups of chicken stock, so I also used 2 cups of beef stocks.  Delicious.
4. Salt to your taste 
5. Simmer
6. In the meantime, fry ups stips of corn tortillas.  The recipes show the tortilla stips as almost a garnish, very small.  But, I did bigger strips.  My beloved soup had thick strips of tortilla in it and I wanted to make it the same way.  
7. Ladle the broth into a bowl and garnish with tortillas strips (the more the better!), a few sprigs of cilantro, and cotija cheese.

**Notes:  I added diced chicken to the soup since Greg needs meat in every dish.  Very good, but in Mexico, my beloved was broth only.  So, it's up to you...delish either way.

Although this probably looks like an ad for "Tortilla Land" products, I assure you it is not.  Just happens to be what I use in my house.  Buy, they are spectacular!

Enjoy!

♥♥♥
Olivia