Potato skins with ham ... made out of leftover baked potatoes

Yesterday, I met with some loyal readers for some great burgers. The Country House didn’t disappoint with the burgers. They did disappoint me one way, however. One thing I always looked forward to was ordering some of their great potato skins. I noticed that they were’t on the menu, and I asked. Sure enough, I was told that they no longer carry them. Wow, I was sad.

Back in the 1980’s, it seems every restaurant had potato skins on the menu. Now, for some reason, they’ve fallen out of favor. Well, if I can’t order them out, at least I can make my own. Now, traditionally the potato skins are fried first, and then topped with the cheese and ham (or bacon). I had some leftover baked potatoes, so I skipped the frying, and let the broiler do the work. Here’s how I make them.

3 baked potatoes

Olive oil

Cajun seasoning

1 cup of diced ham

Several green onions, sliced thin

Shredded cheddar

Salt and pepper

Greek yogurt

Preparation

As I said, the traditional way to do this would be to scoop out the potato and deep fry the skins before filling them with the filling and baking them. Why waste the potato? If that bothers you, you can scoop out some before proceeding with the rest of this recipe. If you do, at least share the scooped potato with your dogs. For goodness sake, don’t waste it. 

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Rub them with olive oil on all sides, and drizzle extra olive oil over the tops. Place them on a cookie sheet, cut side up. Give them a heavy sprinkle of cajun seasoning. Place them under a hot broiler until the potato starts to brown. Remove the pan to a board on the counter. 

Slide the potatoes so they are right next to each other, with as few gaps as you can manage. Mound the shredded cheese on top of each potato. Don’t worry about spillage. You can’t help that. Get a lot of cheese on them. Go ahead, a little more. That’s better. 

Sprinkle on the chopped ham. Make sure you get it all on the potatoes. If it looks skimpy, chop more and add that too. Now add the green onion slices. Return the potatoes to the broiler and let that get all browned and bubbly. 

Remove the potatoes from the broiler when all the cheese is melted and golden brown. Separate them from each other and plop a big glop of Greek yogurt on each. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and serve. 

Serving

I served my potato skins with a broiled bratwurst, a broiled ham slice, two eggs over easy and buttered rye toast. A dry German Riesling would go with this dinner (or brunch if it’s that time of day). Actually, I was out of white wine, so I had mine with ice water. Don’t ask how many potato skins were left after my dinner. There were none left, but it would be rude for you to comment on that. What can I say? They were tasty. 

For dessert, I grabbed my thousand page David Weber novel, and poured a single malt scotch and enjoyed the evening.