Baked Potato

This one falls under the same category as hard-boiled eggs.  It's one of those things you assume you know how to make until it's time to turn on the oven and you realize you have no idea how long to cook the potatoes or at what temperature.  Obviously, I bake potatoes about as often as I hard boil eggs, maybe once or twice a year.

So I hit up the bible for a basic recipe.  It gave me an oven temperature of 450º, but that seemed awfully hot.  Plus, I was using olive oil, which has a lower smoke point, and I was using small potatoes from the 5 lb bag.  So I opted for 400º and fifteen more minutes.

The week after, I was barbecuing and decided to throw some on the grill.  Over coals, that took over 90 minutes.  But I had lit the grill, and wasn't doing anything else all afternoon.  Why turn on the oven?

*4 small or medium potatoes
vegetable oil
aluminum foil

1.  Preheat oven to 400º.  Wash potatoes and rub all over with a drizzle of oil.  Wrap each potato in foil.

2.  Place potatoes either directly on oven rack or on a rack in a roasting pan.  Cook for one hour.  Let rest for five minutes before unwrapping.  Serve hot with toppings of choice.

Difficulty rating  π