Subject: Baked potato
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: Louis Hlavenka (bluebirdmediocrity at mvtel.net)
Date: Wed, 01 Oct 1997 20:08:20 -0500
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I'm new'ish, if this has been covered excuse me. Why do resturants insist on serving some kind of starch turd wrapped in aluminum foil and call it a baked potato? The sweet thing waiting on you even smiles and says "Butter of sour cream?" The butter is margirine and the sour cream comes an a plastic or cardboard thing that can't be opened. The lid on the cardboard thing says it's a million things besides sour cream. Can't someone just wash an Idaho patato,stick it with a fork and bake in an oven? Please no microwave. Just a pat of butter and some salt and pepper will do nicely. Lou
From: mrbbq at webtv.net (Vern Coryell)
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 20:13:58 -0700
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I can't find the original recipe now but will give the basics for THE PERFECT POTATO, it was an original for Red Lobster before they got big.
Take 4 med, size Idaho russets
a 9x12 loaf type pan
a couple of bags of cooking rock salt
i wipe the potatoes with bacon grease
punch a small hole with a fork
cover the bottom of pan with rock salt
add potatoes
cover completely with the rock salt
bake in oven at 350* for at least 1 hour
remove, wipe off, save rock salt till next time. honest this is the fluffyest spud you will ever eat, add your favorite condiments enjoy
From: Don McGranahan (Don at no.spam)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 1997 02:27:34 -0400
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It depends a lot on the type of restaurant you are in. In some large restaurants, potatoes are baked in the regular way. They are wrapped in foil to keep then hot and not baked in it, but you are right that more and more restaurants nuke them to order. In most states, it is against the law to serve margarine unless it clearly states it on the menu, but the law doesn't extend to cream or sour cream. Even if your potato is served with a big dollop of sour cream on it, you can't tell by looking at it if it is real or imitation.
From: evergene at sirius.com (Gene)
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 1997 16:23:38 GMT
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Yes, yes, and yes. The only thing you left out is that a potato "baked" in foil isn't baked, it's steamed; the foil holds the steam inside. So instead of having a slightly mealy texture that is perfect to absorb some butter or other fat, "foiled" potatoes are often mushy.
However, I wouldn't blame it on the Sweet Thing who's waiting on you. He's just doing his job.
I must say, I never before heard a potato described as a "starch turd". I think I'll be making rice tonight.
From: rain at hothouse.iglou.com (Rain)
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 1997 19:57:00 GMT
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>Can't someone just wash an Idaho patato,stick it with a fork and bake in
>an oven?
Not most places, no. It takes longer, it gets a surprising number of complaints from people who grew up on foil-wrapped starchpoop and don't like a crispy potato skin, and real butter and sour cream cost more than their plastic imitators. A shame, but there it is.
From: kris at vilnya.demon.co.uk (Kris Dow)
Date: 19 Oct 97 13:09:16 GMT
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I grew up on the things and still manage to properly appreciate a well-done baked potato when i encounter it (which is pitifully rare, I must say) so who are these people who have no taste in their potatoes whatsoever? Have they actually tried properly done ones? I mean, you don't have to eat the skin, and the potato flesh itself is *so* much nicer...