Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Irish potatoes for St. Patrick's Day: Twice-baked potatoes with pesto

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I'm not fantastic about marking holidays. I forgot my first wedding anniversary. I've been known to let birthdays go by. And I never really got into St. Patrick's Day - not a drop of Irish blood in me. But others feel differently. I realize that.

So, to celebrate the luck of the Irish, I give you these green twice-baked baby potatoes. The green of the pesto faded a bit in the oven, but you get the idea. Use tiny new potatoes and you'll have a perfect finger food snack for...hey, what do people do on St. Patrick's Day, anyway? Oh yes - beer. These go very well with beer.



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Twice-baked potatoes with pesto
Easy twice-baked potatoes with pesto - a perfect green snack for St. Patrick's Day. Use tiny new potatoes for bite-sized finger food.
Ingredients
12 baby Idaho potatoes3 Tbsp pesto sauce (prepared or homemade)1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, grated1 Tbsp butter salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the potatoes well and place them on a baking sheet. Bake the potatoes about 40 minutes, until they are soft enough that the tip of a knife slides in easily. Let the potatoes cool until you can handle them without burning yourself. Leave the oven on.Cut about 1/4 inch off the top of each potato lengthwise. Discard the top slices. With a small spoon and working very carefully, scoop out the insides of each potato, leaving about a quarter-inch layer of potato flesh all around. Be careful not to pierce the skin - you need the potato shells intact. Put the potato flesh into a small mixing bowl.Mash the potatoes with the tines of a fork, then stir in the pesto, cheese and butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper (be more generous with the salt than you think you need to be). Using the same small spoon with which you scooped out the potatoes, fill the potato shells with the filling, mounding it above the opening.Return the potatoes to the baking sheet and put it back in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are sizzling and browned on top. Serve immediately.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 24 pieces

5 comments:

Lindsey @ Gingerbread Bagels said...

I LOVE twice baked potatoes and yours look sooo good. What a great idea to add pesto! :)

a frog in the cottage said...

can I come to celebrate with you !! this is awsome !!

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

Love the pesto idea for St. Paddy's Day.....

yum!

Medifast Coupon Code 2011 said...

What a great potato recipe, can't wait to try and I have just the pesto for this. Thanks.

Megan said...

I like potatoes in any form but little green potatoes are too much fum for St. Patrick's Day. A perfect little appetizer.

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