Twice Baked Potatoes

I don't usually have left-over baked potatoes, so I have to consciously bake too many potatoes if I want to do the twice-baked.  These are great for dinner parties where you want to serve a baked potato, but don't want to (or don't have time to) put potatoes in the oven an hour before you have to serve dinner. 
It is also a more elegant way to serve your guests potatoes containing sour cream, cheese, chives, bacon bits, etc. rather than having them as a do-it-yourself item.
The idea is to bake them ahead of time (the day before, or even a couple days before you want to serve them will do if you keep them refrigerated whole after baking).  Sooo.......

Ingredients:

8 Large Idaho Potatoes
baking rack or 9x13x2 inch baking pan
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup Butter
1 cup Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Chives
2 cloves fresh minced Garlic
2 tsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. cracked Black Pepper


Preheat the oven to 400*F.
In my opinion, Idaho (Russet) Potatoes work best for twice-baked potatoes
Scrub the potatoes with a vegetable brush in cool running water.  Make sure they are cleaned thoroughly--remember, most people eat the skins!
Pat dry with paper towels (or real towels if you want to be conservation-minded).
Bake the potatoes for 1 hour (this will suffice for all but the biggest spuds--they should be tender to the middle when poked with a fork)
Let the potatoes cool off completely on a rack. Keep them dry while they cool.
When the potatoes are cool, slice them in half, lengthwise, so they look like boats.
Scoop out the flesh of each potato into a large bowl with a spoon, being careful not to tear the skins.  Remove as much of the white flesh as possible, leaving the skin very thin. 
Line the skins up in a baking pan--a 9x13x2 inch cake pan works very well. Set aside for filling later.
To the potatoes in the bowl, add the sour cream, butter, and salt.  Mash with a hand masher or beat with a hand mixer.  If the mixture seems too dry, you may add a little more sour cream, or a little heavy whipping cream.
When the potatoes are well mashed, add the garlic, chives, cheddar cheese, and pepper and mix by hand, so everything is well-distributed throughout the potato.  (see note below*)
Then spoon the balance of the mixture into the potato skins so it is evenly distributed.  It will mound up over the top of the skins.  Now, if you made these ahead of when you need them, the potatoes are ready to be put in the refrigerator, right in the baking pan, covered with some Saran Wrap, or Aluminum Foil.
Approximately 30 minutes before serving, take the pan out of the refrigerator, and uncover the baking pan.
Preheat the oven to 400*F.  You may want to enhance the potatoes by sprinkling some extra grated cheddar cheese on top of the potatoes, and add some chopped chives for color and garnish.
Bake the potatoes in the preheated oven, uncovered, for approximately 20 minutes to heat them all the way through.
When hot, remove from the oven, and plate with a spatula and serve!
tip--don't overcrowd the baking pan with potatoes, and never cover the pan; the more hot, dry air that can circulate around the potatoes, the crispier the skin will be.

note*  You may put any kind of ingredient you want in the potatoes; they are very versatile!  Bacon bits, parsley, peas, any kind of cheese you like, or just anything you might put on a regular baked potato can be included!  I love experimenting! 
Some people also get fancy and use a piping bag and tip to pipe the mixture into the skins, which is a nice presentation since the tip kind of makes it look all squiggly and fancy, but then you have to almost puree the mixture, and I like more "body" to my potatoes.