Quarantine Cooking

Someone starting a round-robin-type recipe share asked me for my favorite recipe that requires easy to-find ingredients. I just prepared it for lunch and, except for a minor injury inconvenience incurred during step #4, I thought it worth sharing here:

My Favorite Potato Recipe 

Prep time: 10 - 20 min, depending on your current mental health.
Cook time:  1 hour – if today's raging storms don't knock out your power.
Serves:  One, cuz, yes, I live alone. Well, I have two dogs but no way I'm sharing.


Ingredients

1 large russet potato
Canola oil
Kosher salt


Directions

1) Preheat your tiny, yes-I-live-alone-thank-you toaster oven to 350 degrees.

2) Wash your potato. If you have recently bought a fresh, vibrant potato at a germ-infested store, some sort of soap is optional, albeit disgusting. If, like me, you have sad, dusty potatoes growing sextuplet baby potatoes in the remote, dark reaches of some nearly forgotten kitchen cabinet, you can just use cool running water and perhaps a vegetable brush.

3) Dry your potato thoroughly. Feel free to cuddle it and coo to it if you have not had much human contact recently. Sometimes naming your potato is helpful, too. "Polly" is always a good choice. Or "Paul". I prefer "Pan" to be inclusive.

4)  To allow moisture to escape during baking, use a knife to stab it all over, venting your frustrations about being locked in your home. Use care because most knife assaults result in the perpetrator being cut when her uncontrollable, zealous anger causes her hand to slip down the hilt to the blade mid-stab, resulting in a bloody mess of a potato and sending her back to step #2.
4 1/2) Wait, I mean, to allow moisture to escape during baking, use a dinner fork to poke holes all around the potato.

5) In a bowl or using your hands (in the event that you haven't washed your hands in the last 20 seconds, skipping the bowl will be an opportunity for you to #FlattenTheCurve with personal hygiene because you'll need to wash your hands after this step), lightly coat Polly / Paul / Pan with oil.The recipe calls for Canola Oil but since you're going to gain 50 pounds before this lockdown is over, you can use Coconut Oil for added calories flavor.

6) Sprinkle your slippery potato with kosher salt – or roll it around in the bowl but if it jumps out onto the floor, go back to step #2 – and use soap this time.

7) Gently place the potato directly on a rack that sits in a baking sheet or in an improvised aluminum foil tray.

8) Bake for 1 hour (that's 3 years in Corona-time), or until the skin feels crisp but the potato inside feels soft.

9) To pass the hour, drink wine or a good IPA. Do not limit yourself to one glass.

10) When the potato is cooked, replenish your glass and enjoy the potato as is or with a bunch of healthful toppings – I recommend crushed Oreos and/or a large spoonful of Nutella.

Jill Wragg is a retired police officer in Massachusetts.
She can be reached at JKWragg@yahoo.com

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