Twice Baked Potatoes with a Twist

Who doesn’t love potatoes? I can’t really think of a potato dish I don’t like. But my all time favorite is twice baked potatoes and I think I found a way to make them even better a few nights ago. A friend was coming in to town and he came with some nice cuts of filet mignon so of course it was going to be a good dinner. I decided that a killer twice baked potato was needed to accompany the wonderful beef and boy was I right.   Ingredients

• 4 russet/baking potatoes, washed
• 1 large yellow onion cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 1 tablespoon good balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup parmesan (or any other cheese or cheese mix you’d like), and some extra to top the potatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 
• salt & pepper to taste  

Directions

1. Pierce the top side of each potato with the tines of a fork to allow the steam to release. Place the potatoes on a microwave safe plate and cook on high for approx. 10 minutes in the microwave or until they are fork tender. You could also do this in the oven if you want but the microwave makes this process much quicker.
2. Cut the top 1/4 inch off the top of each potato so that the inner flesh is all exposed. 
3. Using a small spoon, scoop out the flesh from the potatoes, leaving enough on the bottom and sides to allow the potato to hold its shape. 
4. In a pan or skillet add the olive oil, onions, and salt & pepper and place over medium low heat. Saute the onions until they get very dark brown around the edges and they begin to smell sweet. Approx. 15-20 minutes. 
5. Once the onions are a deep brown around the edges add the balsamic vinegar and reduce the heat to low. Add the garlic and allow the onions to caramelize into a very dark and sticky, but tasty, mess. Approx. 5-10 minutes. 
6. Preheat your oven to 450F.
7. Remove the onions from the pan and dice them into fine pieces and add to the potato flesh that you removed from the potatoes. 
8. In that same bowl, add the heavy cream, butter, the cheese, and salt & pepper to taste. Mash until they are the consistency of mashed potatoes and refill the potato shells. It will seem like you have a lot more filling than you started so mound the potatoes up with the tasty filling. 
9. Sprinkle the tops of the potatoes with the extra cheese and place on a baking sheet in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until they are heated through and the cheese on top has created a nice crust.