A good baked potato is so satisfying and so simple. I like to bake a couple of extra potatoes for breakfast hash the next day or a pesto potato pizza.
My mom always baked her potatoes using a nail, and I have found this to be the best and most foolproof way.
Wash your big russet potato well and pat dry. Insert your cooking nail into the end and bang it against the cutting board to pound it in, leaving a 1/2” sticking out. Oil the potato well with olive oil then season well with Kosher salt.
Bake in a preheated 425°F oven for 45 minutes. Test with a fork, the tines should slide in easily. When cooled a few minutes, use a fork to pull out the cooking nail. Split open and dress with your favorite toppings.
The Classic:
Sometimes I like the American classics of butter, sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, and chives (sometimes with crumbled bacon. Other times I like it with poultry or beef gravy, even Bisto is fine, or mushroom gravy.
Stuffed and Double Baked:
Occasionally I will cut out an oval in the top of the potato, or halve them, and gently eviscerate with a spoon to leave a potato shell. Season the shell well with salt and pepper and then mash the insides with salt, pepper, butter, and sour cream. Fill the potato shells and top with grated Parmesan or strong cheddar and bake on a tray for 30 minutes until the tops are golden browned.
Another fabulous double stuffed method uses George Bradshaw’s recipe of mixing the potato insides with a sautéed onion, red wine and beef base reduction, topped with cheese and baked as above. It makes the flesh pleasantly wine colored and such a wonderful flavor, designed to be served with a hearty griddled ground beef patty and more of the onion, red wine and beef reduction as a sauce on the patty.
I have heard of seasoning the filling with lots of caramelized onions and Gruyere for a French onion soup vibe and that sounds very fine.
Heather in SF 
