Twice Baked Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

Today was the 2nd Annual Mini Thanksgiving for my group of friends.  It has fast become something that we look forward to, as we all come together with our favorite holiday recipes.  This year, Catherine really wanted to try something new for a cheesy potato recipe and she searched the web.  She came up with this recipe from Food Network’s website.

I went to the grocery store earlier this week to get the ingredients, but the funny part of the story is that neither one of us looked at the directions (let alone the title of the recipe) until late last night.  Getting home late, we figured today was going to be a chaotic day, so we wanted to at least get a head start on preparing the cheesy potatoes.  As we read the directions, light dawned on us that this wasn’t sliced or cubed potatoes with cheese – it was really the insides of baked potatoes, mashed with the other ingredients to form a casserole.  Duh – twice baked potatoes!  We stayed up until after midnight baking the potatoes, sautéing up the bacon, and mixing all of the ingredients (we didn’t mix the bacon in until we put in the casserole pan to bake this afternoon).  During the prep, I was anxious that this wouldn’t be a friend-worthy recipe to serve.  Much to our glee, we heard happy “yums” throughout the party, and came home with a completely bare casserole dish.  I think we have found a winner!

UPDATE - 11/10/2012
I made this again for this year's Mini Thanksgiving.  It's in the oven as I type.
I baked the potatoes last night, but I tried something different since I found scooping the flesh from the baked potatoes last year to be extremely tedious.  I peeled the potatoes before baking them, and then wrapped them separately, with a little olive oil basted on each potato, in tin foil.  After they were done, and cooled slightly, I put them in a big bowl to mash and it was SO MUCH EASIER, and tasted just the same.  Just not hassle with the peel this time.
I then added all of the ingredients, mixing together in the large bowl, holding aside the fried bacon in a separate container.  I put the bowl of potato mixture and the container of bacon in the refrigerator overnight.  This morning, we took the containers out one hour ahead of time to let it come to room temperature and then I mixed the the bacon in with the potato mixture and then put it all evenly in a large aluminum tray (I think it's something like 18x10).  I topped it with the shredded cheese and put it in the oven.  I hope it comes out as good as everyone remembers!

• 10 large russet baking potatoes (about 7 pounds total)
• 8 Tbsp. (1 stick), at room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. salt
  (recipe calls for 2 tsp. salt, but I found that between the salt and the bacon, it was plenty salty, so next time I would cut down the salt a bit)
• 1 ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb. bacon, diced and cooked until crisp
• ½ lb. sharp white cheddar, cut into ½” cubes
• ¾ lb. mild cheddar, grated (3 cups)
• ½ cup finely chopped green onions
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter (for buttering casserole dish)

DIRECTIONS

1.   Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2.   Scrub the potatoes well and rinse under cool running water. Pat dry with paper towels and prick the potatoes in several places with a fork.

3.   Place the potatoes in the oven and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the oven and set aside on a wire rack until cool enough to handle.

4.   When the potatoes have cooled, cut each potato in half and, using a spoon or a melon baller, scoop the flesh out of the skins, leaving as little flesh as possible.

5.   Place the potato flesh in a large bowl and add 1 stick of the butter, the sour cream, heavy cream, salt, and pepper and mash until chunky-smooth.

6.   Add the bacon, cubed white cheddar, half of the grated cheddar, the green onions, and eggs and mix thoroughly.

7.   Butter a large casserole dish with the remaining tablespoon of butter and reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.

8.   Place the seasoned potato mixture in the prepared casserole and top with the remaining grated cheddar.

9.   Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly around the edges and heated through and the cheese on top is melted and lightly golden. Serve hot.

Adapted from:

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, Emeril's Potluck, William Morrow Publishers, New York, 2004

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/twice-baked-potato-casserole-recipe/index.html