Twice Baked Potatoes with Prosciutto

Happy Valentine's Day! Let me just say that I never would have thought my first blog post would be so time consuming but at the same time fun and in the end worth it!This Valenine's Day my family and I had a nice home cooked meal together and you guessed it one of the sides was these twice baked potatoes. I got the recipe from Giada De Laurentis from The Food Network but left out a few things that I will get to later. These are very easy and yummy! Along with that I opted to use a small skillet because I did not cook mushrooms and only used half an onion because 1) As a result of my not having one my wondeful sister had one handy at her appartment and was able to bring it to me. Unfortunately it was a large one instead of a small one hence the cutting it in half and 2) I am not a huge onion fan. Anyway I can't wait for ya'll to try these and thanks to my mom for helping me! Enjoy!

Prep Time: 12 min.
Inactive Prep Time: 20 min.
Cook Time: 1 hr. 30 min.
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
3-4 potatoes
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons later
1 small chopped onion
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper plus more for seasoning
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 cups (8oz.) shredded extra-sharp cheese
4 thin slices of prosciutto, halved (can be found at your local grocery store)
Optional:
8 oz. small sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Start off by pre-heating your oven to 400 degrees. Next get your potatoes. I am only doing three even though the original recipe calls for Four.



Now wash them real good for the shear reason of I don't think you want any dirt on these potatoes unless your just one of those people that says "God made dirt and dirt don't hurt." My best friend used to say that to me as we were kids but I was never into the whole "getting dirty" thing. Anyway once you have washed them put them on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Begin to prick the potatoes with a fork. I just did it three times on each side of the potato simply because that is the way my mamma taught me. Once you have done this put them in the oven for about an hour and a half or until cooked through.





While these are cooking I recommend doing a few things to make the process a bit easier such as chopping up one small onion.


Mincing three garlic cloves.

and shredding two cups of sharp cheddar cheese or just using some from a package as I did. It saved alot of time :)

When done remove from oven and let cool. This will take about 20 min.


Meanwhile, in a medium skillet heat three tablespoons of olive oil over medium/high heat.


Next add your chopped onion. Stir until it is soft. It will take about 5 min.


Time to add the garlic, salt and pepper! All it takes is 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper. If you were using mushrooms now would also be the time to add them. Unfourtunately, my dad is the only one that really likes mushrooms in the family so they were a no go for this recipe. The vote is 3:1...so no mushrooms.

Stir this around for just a few minutes. Again if the mushrooms were present it would take about 6 min. or until most of the liquid is evaporated.

Pour the mixture into a bowl.


Cut potatoes in half long ways.


Using a spoon or melon ball scooper if you have one scoop out about everything but 1/4 of flesh.


Add the "potato scoopage" to the bowl with the mixture.


Next add the melted butter, oregano, and 1 cup of cheese.

Mix well and season with some salt and pepper to your liking.

Put potatoes back on baking sheet and with a pastry brush, brush both sides of the potatoes with the remaining olive oil and season the insides with salt and pepper to taste.



Spoon mixture back into each potato half and place one half-piece of prosciutto on top and sprinle with the remaining cheese. Clearly the "placing of the prosciutto" did not go so well considering all the pieces were sticking together so I just tore it up into little pieces. I'm learning to be flexible in the kitchen which is tough for me and my type A personality but that's what makes cooking fun!




Put back into the oven and bake until cheese is melted and the prosciutto is cripsy. This should take about 20-25 min.


Remove from oven and if you chose garnish with some flat leaf parsley.I did not because I did not have it on hand.


The finished product! Time to dig in!


Post-dinner


Until next time...Happy Valentine's Day from The Splendid Kitchen!

Link to original recipe and printable directions:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/twice-baked-potatoes-with-mushrooms-and-prosciutto-recipe/index.html