Turns out, the baked potato has always been big and great.
In 1909, Hazen Titus, the dining car superintendent on the Northern Pacific Railway, had a vision: Having learned of a surplus of oversize spuds, he’d ordered them up and placed them on his menu. His “Great Big Baked Potato” became a hit.
These days, a long Idaho tuber, split down the middle like a hot dog bun to reveal fluffy white starch, a pat of butter nestled into the left side, is still big and — more important — great, with its perfect creamy-crunchy-fresh combo of sour cream, chives, cheese and bacon.
I spent the past year baking pounds and pounds of potatoes to come to a simple conclusion: The baked potato is worth celebration. There may be no better (and easier) way to gather than by building on a reliable but never boring base and delighting in each turn of the flavor wheel.
Here are my tips for success:
1. Set up a bar (and really load up on toppings)
As chef Vishwesh Bhatt writes in his 2022 cookbook/memoir, “I Am From Here”: “Potatoes are the great equalizer for many cuisines.” Every culture has a baked potato. Which is to say, it’s a generous vessel, ready to hold just about anything your guests pile on, buffet-style. You can lay out whatever ingredients you love, or, better still, consider these three fun new recipes as a starting point.
An aglio e olio baked potato, for instance, lets the classic Italian combination of garlic and oil find its most melodic expression.
Let bold, well-fermented kimchi step in for bacon in an otherwise-classic loaded baked potato. Cooked down with butter and sesame oil, kimchi mellows its sharp, tangy edges while concentrating its salty savoriness.