Bake Potato

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F./204 C
2. Pour a generous handful of Kosher salt into a small bowl and keep it nearby.
3. Scrub your potatoes with a brush under running water, then dry them off.
4. With a fork, stab each potato in the center once, then flip it over and stab it on the other side.
5. Microwave the potatoes on high for five to six minutes.
6. You should detect the distinct aroma of potato in your kitchen at this point.
7. Note that for up to two potatoes, five to six minutes in the microwave should be enough.
8. If you're doing four, you might need more like 10 to 12 minutes.
9. For more than four, you're best off microwaving them two at a time.
10. Transfer the microwaved potatoes to a sheet pan.
11. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over them, and smear it around so that the potatoes are evenly coated.
12. Now reach for that bowl of salt.
13. Sprinkle the salt generously over the potatoes and smear it around so that each potato is evenly coated.
14. Be generous with the salt.
15. Any excess will fall off.
16. Transfer the oiled and salted potatoes to the oven and place them directly on the oven rack.
17. You could place a sheet of foil or a baking sheet on the rack below them to catch any drippings.
18. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the skins are crispy and a skewer slides easily into the potato.
19. Remove the baked potatoes from the oven.
20. Split them open and serve topped with butter, sour cream and chopped chives.

Tips:

• Crumbled bacon, cooked broccoli or grated cheese make great baked potato toppings.
• A blue cheese like Gorgonzola is terrific on a baked potato.
• Chives and butter are a classic combination on a baked potato.
• You may have noticed that nowhere in these steps is there any mention of baking the potato in foil.
• That's because potatoes baked in foil don't bake, they steam — which produces a totally different texture, and won't give the potato a crispy skin.
• So don't bake potatoes in foil.Especially not in the microwave!