As a kid, no TV commercial was more enticing than one that featured a piping hot baked potato with a dollop of sour cream or a pat of softened butter - I'm thinking 80's Ponderosa here.  For a kid who had rice 99% of the time for dinner, baked potatoes were definitely a treat. Whenever my mother made baked potatoes at home, she'd cut them clean in half and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get my potato to look as appetizing as the commercials. It wasn't until much later that I learned how to replicate what I'd seen all those years before. There's nothing wrong with cutting a potato in half, but if you cut a potato open this alternate way, you'll create a natural bowl, which you can then use to hold all your favourite ingredients! What's better than that? 1) Score your potato lengthwise. 2) Score your potato crosswise. 3) Place your fingers on opposite ends of the potato, gently push in and up until potato opens up slightly. 4) Fill with your favourite ingredients. Tip: Baked potatoes are easiest to work with while they're hot. Click here to check out my previous blog about making the perfect baked potato. Photography by Irene Fong