Game Day ‘Tato Skins

I’ll admit that my days of watching football or basketball are far, far behind me. And honestly when I’m in the throes of a tennis match the only thing in my hand is a cocktail. But since everyone around me is a soccer (or football) fanatic, sometimes it’s important to have a few game day recipes to tide the hungry mouths over. Just between you and me, these recipes are more to keep the screaming at the television to a minimum.

Since it’s a poorly kept secret just how much I love potatoes I usually take any opportunity I can to whip them up in any form. For the recent German on German soccer match I decided to go with good old-fashioned potato skins.

Even more than the potato this was my perfect excuse to buy a slab of bacon. Although calling it a ‘slab’ is really a misnomer since the German version of “American style” bacon is nearly transparent. I am always disappointed but it keeps my bacon noshing to a minimum so I guess for that I should be grateful. I’m not.

Finding a few good medium-sized potatoes made me happy since normally I get stuck with potatoes more suitable for Tyrion Lannister than man-sized Europeans. Although now that I think about it, mini-skins would be pretty cool. That way you could eat them around the TV without having a panic attack every time someone misses a goal and Irish cheddar drips on the floor or worse, the sofa.

So let’s get to it, shall we?

Serving: 3 potatoes, so 3 servings for women or 1 for men!

Ingredients:

3 potatoes, washed

2 scallions, sliced

8 oz. crème fraiche

4 slices of bacon

1 cup Irish cheddar (I prefer Kerry Gold)

2 tbsp. olive oil

Salt & Pepper

1 tbsp. Cayenne pepper

1 tbsp. sweet paprika

Dried herbs (optional)

Instructions

1. Pat the potatoes dry and poke holes all around it with a fork.
2. Preheat oven to 400° F.
3. In a shallow dish, place salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika and herbs.
4. Rub potatoes all over with olive oil and dredge through spices & herbs until well coated.
5. Wrap each potato in aluminum foil and place in oven for about 65 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
6. Place bacon on a baking sheet and place in oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or until crispy.
7. Let potatoes cool off for about 5 minutes before handling, then slice lengthwise in half.
8. Grate cheddar over potatoes while still warm, then top with crumbled bacon, scallions and crème fraiche.

This type of dish goes great with a Pilsner or my personal favorite black beer!

Add other toppings if you desire, such as jalapeno peppers, broccoli, melted cheese or salsa.