Best way to bake a potato

Dinner tonight was grilled chicken spuds and salad. I know it's lame to blog about such an easy meal, but I baked the potatoes a new way and I fell in love, so I had to share! My favorite cookbook is the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (a gift from my mother-in-law, who is a phenomenal cook). Part of the reason I love it so much is that just as the name suggests, they test things out. This is an example of that. They baked an entire bag of potatoes and then told which way came out the best. Usually I find their tidbits to be true, so I decided to try to bake my potatoes this way.

30 minute baked potatoes

Medium Russet potatoes, scrubbed and dried

Poke a few holes in each potato with the tines of a fork and microwave on high until slightly soft to the touch, 6-12 minutes, turning over halfway. *With 2 potatoes, I microwaved for 6 minutes, flipped and then did 4 more. You can do up to 4 at a time. Carefully transfer the potatoes to a 450 degree oven and cook directly on the oven rack. Bake for 20 minutes. These were not only WAY faster, but they were the perfect combination of crispy on the outside and really soft on the inside. You need to cut them open immediately after cooking so they don't get hard in the inside. I usually bake potatoes wrapped in foil for over an hour, but these were so much better!