Baked (not microwaved) potatoes

I love potatoes in almost any form.  One of my more favorite forms is the baked potato -- its natural flavor is so tasty, and all I need a little butter and salt and I am in a happy mood.  I also love that it goes well with most dishes.

A few weeks ago, I had my sister over for steaks (we made some rib eye on the ourdoor grill), and I also made a tossed salad.  I needed to quickly think of a side dish to go with the steak.  Why... of course easy-peasy baked potato would go well with the dish.  Like I always say, I'm a meat and potatoes kind of girl.

When I am not cooking for guests, I don't mind eating potatoes cooked in the microwave.  Its fast (4 mins in the microwave) and still tastes great, but it does not have the wonderfully crispy potato skin that baked potatoes have.  Also, the potato meat is not as flaky and fluffy the way baked potatoes are.

(btw, don't let anyone tell you that you can make "baked" potato in the microwave.  They don't know what they are talking about.  You can make "microwaved" potatoes in the microwave, but you can only make "baked" potato in the oven.  You need the dry heat of the oven to get the crispy skin).

How I make baked potatoes is really simple.  Scrub all the dirt off the potatoes, poke it several times with a fork, then drizzle olive oil and kosher salt all over the potato.  I baked for 1 hour on 350, placed directly on a sheet of foil on the oven rack.  (If you are making more than 4 potatoes, then it will take about 1 hour 15 minutes).
Comes out perfect every time!

I enjoy a teeny bit of butter melted inside, and that's it.  The salt, I get from the kosher salt rubbed on the skin (prior to baking).