My first Berkshire Eagle column of the year appeared in print on January 1st – Happy New Year! Today with low temps and the wind howling, I can think of nothing better than a recipe that requires you to turn on the oven. Instead of potato rolls, as delicious as they may be, I’m using a twice-baked potato instead of a roll. You can make this with hot dogs or any kind of sausages, even vegan sausages, and you can pick different cheeses for the twice-baked potato to suit your selection!

COZY DOG BEDS

by Elizabeth Baer

Happy New Year! Maybe you slept in after a New Year’s Eve when you were up later than usual. Or maybe you rang in the New Year with a fun brunch spread with your favorite people. Whatever it was, soon the glittering lights of the holiday season will disappear for eleven months, and we will find ourselves – at least here in the Berkshires – in the cold stretch of winter with the sun so low in the sky it barely reaches above the trees.

There are definitely days when all I want to do I curl up on the sofa under a blanket. In the kitchen it’s the time for cozy, comfort foods, especially when that means turning on the oven for long periods of time. With that in mind, and thinking about a cozy bed, I decided to use a twice-baked potato as the vessel for serving a hot dog!

This is a fun presentation, and also versatile. I’ve given instructions below with hot dogs for a basic template, and you can experiment with many variations! If you like Italian sausage, swap in mozzarella for the Cheddar, and drizzle warm tomato sauce; or bratwurst is great, maybe with some sauerkraut on top. You can even make it work for vegetarians with one of the many vegan sausages on the market.

DOGS IN BEDS

Serves 2, can be multiplied

INGREDIENTS:

1 large baking potato, about 8-12 ounces
2 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese, about ½ cup
2 tablespoons sour cream
¼-½ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Several grinds fresh pepper
⅛ cayenne pepper, optional
2 hot dogs or other sausage, even vegan sausage would be fine

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Scrub the potato and poke eight to ten times or so with a fork. Place directly on the rack in the oven and bake for 1-1¼ hours until soft.

Holding the potato in an oven mitt, cut in half lengthwise. Using a soup spoon, scoop out the both potato halves, leaving about ¼-inch shell, and place the potato flesh into a small bowl.

Reserve approximately 2 tablespoons cheese. Place the remaining cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and cayenne (if using) into the bowl with the potato flesh. Mix to combine. Stuff half of the mixture into each potato half, creating an indentation with the back of the spoon in which the hot dog or sausage will rest. Up to this point can be done ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator until ready to finish. Place the stuffed potato halves on a foil-lined pan, and bake for 10 minutes. If the stuffed potato halves have been refrigerated, they will probably require 15-20 minutes until heated through.

While the stuffed potato halves are baking, score the hot dogs with a shallow cut along the length, and cook the hot dogs. If using sausage, you can prick but don’t score along the length. Grilling is preferred, but you can also cook them in a pan on top of the stove. (While boiling is not ideal, it can be done, but, if so, don’t score the hot dogs so they don’t absorb as much water.) If using vegan sausage, cook according to package instructions.

Take the potato halves out of the oven, turn off the oven and start the broiler. Nestle one cooked hot dog in each half, and scatter the reserved cheese evenly over the hot dogs. Place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted. If you prefer not to use the broiler, they can go back in the oven at 425°F for 3-5 minutes.

Serve with the usual hot dog condiments – mustard, relish, etc.

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Potato as a Roll (sort of)