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Stuffed Baked Potatoes With Cheese
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| What You Need: |
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3 tablespoons butter, softened, plus 4 tablespoons butter, cut into ¼-inch bits and softened
6 eight-ounce baking potatoes, each about 4 inches long, thoroughly scrubbed and patted dry with paper towels
3¾ cups (about 1 pound) freshly grated sharp Cheddar cheese
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Preheat the oven to 350. With a pastry brush, spread 2 tablespoons of the softened butter evenly over the skins of the potatoes. Bake the potatoes on a rack set in the middle of the oven for about 45 minutes. The potatoes are fully baked if they feel soft when squeezed gently between your thumb and forefinger.
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2. Cut a ¼-inch-thick lengthwise slice from each baked potato. With a spoon, scoop the potato pulp into a bowl, leaving a boatlike shell about ¼ inch thick. Set the potato shells aside.
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3. Mash the pulp to a smooth puree with the back of a fork, or force the pulp through a ricer or food mill into a deep bowl. Add 3 cups of the grated cheese and mix well. Then beat in the sour cream and, when it is completely incorporated, add the 4 tablespoons of butter bits, the salt and the pepper. Taste for seasoning.
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4. Spoon the potato mixture into a large pastry bag fitted with a No. 5B decorative tip and pipe it into the reserved potato shells. Or spoon the mixture directly into the potato shells, dividing it equally among them and mounding it slightly in the center of each one. Brush a jelly-roll pan evenly with the remaining tablespoon of softened butter and arrange the stuffed potato shells side by side in the pan.
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5. If you wish to serve the potatoes at once, preheat the broiler to its highest setting. Sprinkle the remaining ¾ cup of grated cheese evenly over the potatoes,. then slide them under the broiler for a minute or two to melt the topping.
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6. If you prefer, the stuffed potatoes may be arranged on the buttered pan, draped with wax paper and kept at room temperature for 2 or 3 hours before serving.
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7. In that event, preheat the oven to 400, sprinkle the ¾ cup of grated cheese over the potatoes, and bake the potatoes in the middle of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are heated through and the tops are golden brown and crusty. Serve them at once.
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