Danger!! - Addictive Twice Baked Potatos Ahead!

Saturday steak night is a given..I have already told you that. The only fluctuation is side dishes. Sweet, baked or roasted potato of some kind.

My husband came home a few weeks ago with a "Fine Cooking" magazine and it had an article about fresh horseradish root. After the article they had a recipe for "twice baked potatoes" which sounded good, with one exception..I don't like horseradish!

I thought I would substitute garlic for the fresh horseradish and try it. It seemed easy and who doesn't like garlic, butter and chives??

The first thing I thought was odd was that it called for the potatoes to be baked without a foil wrapper. I thought this would dry out the potato, but I trusted the cooks. They were 100% right! The meat pulls back just enough from the skin to allow you to scrape the potato out perfectly! I used a sharp edge teaspoon to pull out the potato. Be careful because it can tear if you are too vigorous with your scraping!

4 medium russet potatoes (about 7 oz. each), scrubbed and dried
5 Tbs. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. finely grated Pecorino Romano (3/4 oz.)
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1/4 cup half-and-half, at room temperature
2 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. finely minced garlic
1 Tbs. thinly sliced chives; more for garnish
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F.

Prick the potatoes a few times with a fork. Put the potatoes directly on the oven rack and bake until tender when pierced with a skewer, 50 to 60 minutes.

While the potatoes are still hot, hold each one with a clean dishtowel and cut off about one-quarter lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop the potato flesh out into a medium bowl, leaving enough on the skins that they hold their shape. Add 4 Tbs. of the butter to the potato flesh, and with a potato masher, work the potatoes until lightly mashed but not completely smooth. Stir in 1/2 cup of the pecorino, the sour cream, half-and-half, 2 Tbs. of the horseradish, the chives, 1 tsp. salt, and a few grinds of pepper and mix until combined. Mound the filling into the potatoes. Cut the remaining 1 Tbs. butter into 4 pieces and top each potato with a pat of butter. Transfer to a small rimmed baking sheet or baking dish. (The potatoes may be prepared to this point up to 6 hours ahead; cover and refrigerate. Add 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.)

In a small bowl, thoroughly mix the remaining 2 Tbs. pecorino and 2 tsp. horseradish with your fingers. Sprinkle over the potatoes. Bake until the potatoes are heated through and the tops are golden-brown, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with chives.