Spicy Christmas Baked Potato
The holidays are here and nothing reminds me of Christmas like a baked potato.
All through my childhood we ate nothing but baked potatoes on Christmas day. We rose early to find our stockings stuffed with those delicious spuds and a couple of ripe juicy oranges on top for dessert. My mom made sure to get up early and preheat the oven so we could start baking that brown gold right away. All day long we stuffed that oven with russets.
When I was little I could only manage two or three baked potatoes on Christmas, but by the time I was 18 I put away six or seven of those bad boys. Most of the time all we had was butter, salt, and pepper, but on rare occasions my parents would spring for delicacies like sour cream and green onion. One year we even had bacon. “If I can’t spoil my children on Christmas, when can I do it?” my father liked to say.
Wasting food was never an option in our house, so my dad came up with a scheme to get us to eat the undesirable potato peels we preferred to leave on our plates. Cover the peel in oil, salt, and pepper before you bake it and when it comes out of the oven you have a crispy flavorful delight. That’s the way I do it to this day.
Earlier this year my mom turned 65 and my parents immediately retired to the Bahamas, buying beachfront property to lounge their twilight years away. I called my mom the other day and asked if she plans to continue our Christmas tradition, but she said she’s done with potatoes.
“Ever since we moved I’ve eaten a steak every day and that’s what I intend to keep doing. I looked at your little food blog you sent me in email and I thought it was so cute I decided to start my own.” She sent me the link (mamasdailysteak.wordpress.com) where she posts pictures of all the steaks she eats (ribeye, Kobe strip, Wagyu tenderloin, etc.).
My parents may have abandoned our family tradition and told me they were too busy with scuba lessons to get me any presents or send money to help with the three months of back rent I owe, but I believe in staying true to my Soares Christmas roots. I’ve been making baked potatoes every day for the last two weeks and I plan to continue well into the new year. Here’s a fancy potato I spent the last of my food stamps to make.
Spicy Christmas Baked Potato:
Ingredients:
2-4 russet potatoes
Salt
Black pepper
Olive Oil
2-3 jalapenos
1/2 lb chorizo
8 oz pepperjack cheese
3 whole green onions
Butter
Sour cream
Hot sauce
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Stab potatoes with a fork a few times to prevent rupturing while cooking.
Coat potatoes in olive oil and rub the entire skin with salt and pepper then place in oven. Cook for about one hour. If you’d like your skin extra crispy you can turn the heat up to 450 for the last 10-ish minutes of cooking.
About fifteen minutes before the potatoes are done heat oil in a non-stick pan on medium heat. Dice jalapenos then saute until desired doneness. Remove and set aside.
Cook chorizo in the same pan to add a little extra spice then set aside.
Grate the pepperjack cheese.
Chop green onions.
Remove potatoes and cut down the center with a knife. You can use tongs to hold the potato while cutting as they will be very hot.
Put butter in the potato then stir around with a fork until you reach desired potato creaminess. I use a lot of butter for this part.
Salt and pepper to taste then top with cheese, chorizo, sour cream, green onion and hot sauce.
Now you have a perfect baked potato to eat for your holiday dinner.
